The following reading list is meant as a supplement to the bibliographies that accompany the subject specific essays in this collection. We have selected two types of works for this list: those works that explain the long-term, historical development of popular culture in the United States; and those works that discuss the academic study of popular culture. Among the latter are both theoretical explications and reference works. This reading list is not intended to be exhaustive.

Barthes, Roland. Mythologies. Translated by Annette Lavers. 1957.Reprint, New York, The Noonday Press, 1972.

Bigsby, C. W. E., editor. Approaches to Popular Culture. Bowling Green, Ohio, Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1976.

Bluestein, Gene. Poplore: Folk and Pop in American Culture. Amherst, University of Massachusetts Press, 1994.

Bode, Carl. The Anatomy of American Popular Culture, 1840-1861. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1960.

Browne, Ray B. Popular Culture and the Expanding Consciousness. New York...