The dynamics of interconnections in popular culture(s) / Edited by Ray B. Browne and Ben Urish.

Foreword by Gary Hoppenstand.

Includes bibliography and index.

The Dynamics of Interconnections in Popular Culture(s) is an eclectic and free-ranging collection of articles grounded in a combination of the social sciences with the populist humanities. The collection is further unified by an approach that considers changes and linkages within and between cultural systems as evidenced through their respective popular cultures. The key underlying assumption is that our collective popular expressions create an arena of global cultural exchange, further precipitating new cultural adaptations, expressions, and connections. The volume is divided into two sections. The first consists of articles investigating theoretical and methodological approaches to the dynamics of history and cultural changes. These include cultural anthropology, history, economics, and sociology. The second section is made up of explorations into a myriad of cultural practices and expressions that exemplify not only the wide diversity of popular cultures and their workings, but also the interconnections between and within those cultural systems. A wide variety of specific case studies are presented to evidence and support the more general points made in the previous section. The collection demonstrates that the everyday lives of ordinary people, while varying from culture to culture, are unified through their expressions of shared humanity.

Foreword -- Preface -- Introduction -- Interconnections -- Cultural Anthropology's Dictum -- The Usable Past and the Usable Present in Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs -- History, Heritage and the Museological Function of Sports Bars -- On the Linkages Between Sociology and Popular Culture -- Linkages Between Economics and Popular Culture -- Dynamics -- 'They Got to Go' -- We are All Cylons ? From Mail Order and Picture Brides, Lonely Hearts and Social Clubs, to Eharmony, 'Just Lunch', Speed Dating and Coffee Mating -- the 'Nature' Of Frontiers -- Don't Worry About the Government. -- A Prison For Others-A Burden To One's Self -- American/Japanese Developing Relationship Through Popular Culture -- Conflicting Currents Between Chinese and American Trade Cultures -- Projecting National Identities Through Cultural Diplomacy -- Political Performance, Celebrity Culture and Mass-Mediated 'Democracy' in America -- Contributors -- Appendix -- Index.