Cultural Excursions: Marketing Appetites and Cultural Tastes in Modern America - Softcover

Harris, Neil

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0226317587 ISBN 13: 9780226317588

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1990

Synopsis

Neil Harris's scholarship of the past twenty-five years has helped to open up the study of American cultural history. This long-awaited collection gathers some of his rich and varied writings. Harris takes us from John Philip Sousa to Superman, with stops along the way to explore art museums and world fairs, shopping malls and hotel lobbies, urban design and utopian novels, among other artifacts of American cultures.

The essays fall into three general sections: the first treats the history of cultural institutions, highlighting the role of museums; the second section focuses on some literary, artistic, and entrepreneurial responses to the new mass culture; and the final group of essays explores the social history of art and architecture. Throughout Harris's diverse writings certain themes recur—the redefining of boundaries between high art and popular culture, the relationship between public taste and technological change, and the very notion of what constitutes a shared social experience. Harris's pioneering work has broadened the field of cultural history and encouraged whole new areas of inquiry. Cultural Excursions will be useful for those in American and culture studies, as well as for the general reader trying to make sense of the culture in which we live.

About this title

About the Author:

Neil Harris, professor of history at the University of Chicago, is the author of "The Artist in American Society: The Formative Years, 1790-1860" and "Humbug: The Art of P. T. Barnum," both published by the University of Chicago Press.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0226317587
• ISBN 13: 9780226317588
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 462