any advice?

Dear list,

I?m writing to ask for some academic advice ? please bear with me, this 
might be vague and imprecise!  I graduated in 2000 with a degree in 
Sociology, and have been giving serious thought for the past few months of 
going back to graduate school.  My independent undergrad work tended toward 
a study of media images (specifically, Madonna and celebrity culture, and 
the fabrication and marketing of ?Generation X?).  This turned out to be a 
rather difficult direction for me, given the lack of professors available on 
campus who were familiar with that side of the field.  As my luck had it, 
the couple who could have advised me were on leave.  As a result, I 
graduated with a fairly developed sense of what I would have liked to 
pursue, but little info on programs or paths available to follow.

So I ask the list for any suggestions on programs in the field of media 
studies ? specifically in an area encompassing the meeting of media studies 
and popular culture.  Vague, I know.  But any help on how to begin to 
solidify this notion would be greatly appreciated.  My main interests - 
within what I classify as ?media studies? in my mind (this may or may not be 
the "official" definition - lie in the representation of cultures through 
the mass media, the moral panics that sometimes accompany the representation 
of non-mainstream groups and the commodification of subcultural styles that 
often results (forgive me if I?m butchering Hebdige ? it?s been a couple of 
years), as well as the general consumption of popular culture and its 
symbiotic relationship with mass media.  I wonder what kind of umbrella 
something like this would fall under ? is it really media studies, or am I 
just confusing myself, since the mass media is usually how popular culture 
is conveyed to the masses and ?made popular? (too often for commercial 
purposes)?

Thanks for taking the time to read.  I hope someone is able to latch on to 
any of this and offer a suggestion on where to look, or what kinds of things 
to look for.

Thanks in advance for any help.  Please respond to me at 
alessandra_lusardi@xxxxxxxxxxx




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