Bruce Springsteen, Cultural Studies, and the Runaway American Dream

Womack (English, Penn State U.) et al. assemble 14 essays on the impact of Bruce Springsteen on American society's views of politics, social justice, Americana, gender, narrative, religion, multiculturalism, and citizenship, and the sociocultural impact of his commentary on the American Dream. A multidisciplinary group of American scholars working in fields from politics to media studies to music discusses albums such as The Rising, Nebraska, and Devils & Dust, and songs like "Born in the USA," "The Promised Land," and "Born to Run," examining his illustration of working-class life; how his female characters contend with a masculinized society; his Vietnam war songs; his spiritual explorations of Biblical stories and the mysteries of faith; and his liberal, progressive politics in his music and public life. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Kenneth Womack is Professor of English and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Penn State University, USA. His publications include Postwar Academic Fiction: Satire, Ethics, Community (2001), Key Concepts in Literary Theory (2001), Mapping the Ethical Turn: A Reader in Ethics, Culture, and Literary Theory (2001), Reading the Beatles: Cultural Studies, Literary Criticism, and the Fab Four (2006), Postmodern Humanism in Contemporary Literature and Culture: Reconciling the Void (2006), Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles (2007), The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles (2009), and a novel, John Doe No. 2 and the Dreamland Motel (2010). Jerry Zolten is Associate Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at Penn State University, USA, where he teaches courses on Communications, American Studies, and Popular Music. He is the producer of CDs by the Fairfield Four and their bass singer Isaac Freeman, co-host with cartoonist Robert Crumb of Chimpin' the Blues, a public radio program on the history of early blues, and the author of Great God A'Mighty! The Dixie Hummingbirds: Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel Music (2002). Mark Bernhard is Associate Provost for Outreach and Engagement at the University of Southern Indiana, USA. He holds a Ph.D. in Workforce Planning and Development from Penn State University. He is co-editor of Cases in Government Succession Planning: Action-Oriented Strategies for Public Sector Human Capital Management, Workforce Planning, Succession Planning, and Talent Management (2008).