American professor who first made 'popular culture' a subject of academic study dies
Ray Browne, the American university professor who coined the phrase "popular culture" and pioneered the study of everything from bumper stickers to cartoons, has died aged 87.
Browne worked for decades to convince academics that much could be learned from studying seemingly insignificant elements of our lives.
He developed the first academic department devoted to studying what he called the "people's culture" at Bowling Green state university, Ohio, in 1973, and wrote and edited more than 70 books on popular culture - including The Guide to United States Popular Culture, published in 2001.
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
Browne worked for decades to convince academics that much could be learned from studying seemingly insignificant elements of our lives.
He developed the first academic department devoted to studying what he called the "people's culture" at Bowling Green state university, Ohio, in 1973, and wrote and edited more than 70 books on popular culture - including The Guide to United States Popular Culture, published in 2001.