1st Edition

Drugs and Popular Culture

Edited By Paul Manning Copyright 2007
    304 Pages
    by Willan

    304 Pages
    by Willan

    The use of illegal drugs is so common that a number of commentators now refer to the 'normalisation' of drug consumption. It is surprising, then, that to date very little academic work has explored drug use as part of contemporary popular culture. This collection of readings will apply an innovatory, multi-disciplinary approach to this theme, combining some of the most recent research on 'the normalisation thesis' with fresh work on the relationship between drug use and popular culture. In drawing upon criminological, sociological and cultural studies approaches, this book will make an important contribution to the newly emerging field positioned at the intersection of these disciplines. The particular focus of the book is upon drug consumption as popular culture. It aims to provide an accessible collection of chapters and readings that will explore drug use in popular culture in a way that is relevant to undergraduates and postgraduates studying a variety of courses, including criminology, sociology, media studies, health care and social work.

    Introduction  Part 1: Context, theory and history  Introduction, Paul Manning  1. An introduction to theoretical approaches and research traditions, Paul Manning  2. Mental health and moral panic: drug discourses in history, Andrew Blake  Part 2: Considering the 'normalisation thesis' Introduction: an overview of the normalisation debate, Paul Manning  3. Definitely, maybe, not? The normalization of recreational drug use amongst young people, Michael Shiner and Tim Newburn  4. The 'normalisation' of 'sensible' recreational drug use: further evidence from the North West Longitudinal Study, Howard Parker, Judith Aldridge and L Williams  Part 3: Representing drugs in and as popular culture  Introduction, Paul Manning  5. Drugs and popular music in the modern age, Andrew Blake  6. Drugs, the family and recent American cinema, Leighton Grist  7. Under a cloud: morality,ambivalence and uncertainty in news discourse of cannabis law reform in Great Britain, Simon Cross  8. The symbolic framing of drug use in the news: ecstasy and volatile substance abuse in newspapers, Paul Manning  9. Drug dealers as folk heroes? Drugs and television situation comedy, Paul Carter  10. 'Junk, skunk and Northern Lights - representing drugs in children's literature, Andy Melrose and Vanessa Harbour  Part 4: Identities, cultural practices and drugs  Introduction, Paul Manning  11. Echoes of drug culture in urban music, Oluyinka Esan  12. Drugs and identity: being a junkie mum, Sarah Goode  13. Women, drugs and popular culture: is there a need for a feminist embodiment perspective? Elizabeth Ettore  14. The drugs of labour: the contested nature of popular drug use in childbirth, Laura Hubner  Part 5: Drugs, normalisation and popular culture: implications and policy  Introduction, Paul Manning  15. Systemic 'normalisation'? - mapping and interpreting policy responses to illicit drug use, Richard Huggins

    Biography

    Paul Manning is the Head of the School of Media and Film at Winchester University, UK. His research interests include news and political communication, news sources, drugs and popular culture, and cultural criminology.