Twilight and Philosophy: Vampires, Vegetarians, and the Pursuit of Immortality

The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy: Hogwarts for Muggles

Gregory Bassham · 288 pages

"The Ultimate Harry Potter: Hogwarts for Muggles, is a fresh and distinctive report on the great ideas in the series. All the authors of these chapters have had the advantage of thinking through their chosen issues, and writing up their conclusions after the entire Potter storyline was complete, and Rowling had even had her say in public about things that never made it into the pages of the offici

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale

James B. South · 311 pages

In the tradition of classic horror films, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" addresses ethical issues that have long fascinated audiences. This collection features 23 essays by young professional philosophers that examine crucial ethical and metaphysical aspectsof the "Buffyverse" (the world of Buffy).

Watchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach Test (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series)

Mark D. White, Christopher Robichaud, Jacob M. Held, Anthony Spanakos, Joseph Keeping, J. Robert Loftis, James DiGiovanna, Christopher M. Drohan, Robert Arp, Aaron Meskin · 227 pages

"Watchmen is the most critically acclaimed graphic novel ever published and turned the world of comic superheroes on its head. This masterpiece of realistic storytelling, dialogue, and artwork, courtesy of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, raises a host of compelling philosophical questions. How do Ozymandias and Rorschach justify their actions? What are the political ramifications of the Comedian's wo

Superheroes: The Best of Philosophy and Pop Culture

William Irwin · 256 pages

Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul

Mark D. White, Robert Arp · 294 pages

Batman is one of the most complex characters ever to appear in comic books, graphic novels, and on the big screen. What philosophical trials does this superhero confront in order to keep Gotham safe? Combing through seventy years of comic books, television shows, and movies, Batman and Philosophy explores how the Dark Knight grapples with ethical conundrums, moral responsibility, his identity cris

Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre

Walter Kaufmann · 384 pages

Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy: Curiouser And Curiouser

Richard Brian Davis · 227 pages

"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has fascinated children and adults alike for generations. Why does Lewis Carroll introduce us to such oddities as blue caterpillars who smoke hookahs, cats whose grins remain after their heads have faded away, and a White Queen who lives backwards and remembers forwards? Is it all just nonsense? Was Carroll under the influence? This book probes the deeper underlyi

Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism

Fredric Jameson · 438 pages

This wide-ranging work seeks to crystallize a definition of postmodernism. The author looks at the postmodern across a wide landscape, from high art to low; from market ideology to architecture, from painting to punk; film, from video art to literature.

The Matrix and Philosophy: Welcome to the Desert of the Real

Gerald J. Erion, Barry Smith, Carolyn Korsmeyer, Jonathan J. Sanford, Jason Holt, Theodore Schick Jr., Gregory Bassham, James Lawler, David Mitsuo Nixon · 320 pages

The Hunger Games and Philosophy: A Critique of Pure Treason

George A. Dunn, Nicolas Michaud · 320 pages

Examines the key characters, plot lines, and themes of the series while applying the perspectives of Charles Darwin, Thomas Hobbes, and Plato.

Shadowhunters and Downworlders: A Mortal Instruments Reader

Holly Black, Kate Milford, Diana Peterfreund, Sara Ryan, Scott Tracey, Robin Wasserman, Kendare Blake, Gwenda Bond, Sarah Rees Brennan, Rachel Caine, Sarah Cross, Kami Garcia, Michelle Hodkin, Kelly Link

Contains: Introduction by Cassandra Clare Unhomely Places by Kate Milford The Art of War by Sarah Cross Sharper Than a Seraph Blade by Diana Peterfreund When Laws Are Made to Be Broken by Robin Wasserman Simon Lewis: Jewish, Vampire, Hero by Michelle Hodkin Why the Best Friend Never Gets the Girl by Kami Garcia Brotherly Love by Kendare Blake Asking for a Friend by Gwenda Bond (Not) Fo

Mapping the World of Harry Potter: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Explore the Bestselling Series of All Time

Leah Wilson · 240 pages

Consider the Lobster and Other Essays

David Foster Wallace · 343 pages

Do lobsters feel pain? Did Franz Kafka have a funny bone? What is John Updike's deal, anyway? And what happens when adult-video starlets meet their fans in person? David Foster Wallace answers these questions and more in essays that are enthralling narrative adventures. Whether covering the three-ring circus of a vicious presidential race, plunging into the wars between dictionary writers, or conf

The Hero With a Thousand Faces

Joseph Campbell · 456 pages

A thoroughly intense and all-embracing read. In the 2-page preface written in 1948, he states such ground-shakingly obvious facts about the human psyche, that you'll wonder why these ideas had never dawned on you before. Then, into the main text of the book, and you're spirited away into an adventure that explores all forms of mythology and their importance in founding different cultures all aroun

Art in Theory 1900 - 2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas

Charles Harrison, Paul Wood · 1,288 pages

On Photography

Susan Sontag · 207 pages

On Photography is a 1977 collection of essays by Susan Sontag. It originally appeared as a series of essays in the New York Review of Books between 1973 and 1977. In the book, Sontag expresses her views on the history and present-day role of photography in capitalist societies as of the 1970s. Sontag discusses many examples of modern photography, among these, she contrasts Diane Arbus's work with

Twilight and History

Nancy Reagin · 274 pages

The first look at the history behind Stephenie Meyer's bestselling Twilight series, timed to release with the third movie, Eclipse. The characters of the Twilight Saga carry a rich history that shapes their identities and actions over the course of the series. Edward, for instance, may look like a seventeen-year-old teen heartthrob, but was actually born in 1901 and died during the Spanish Influen

The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer

William Irwin, Aeon J. Skoble, Mark T. Conard · 304 pages

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

Scott McCloud · 215 pages

Praised throughout the cartoon industry by such luminaries as Art Spiegelman, Matt Groening, and Will Eisner, Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics is a seminal examination of comics art: its rich history, surprising technical components, and major cultural significance. Explore the secret world between the panels, through the lines, and within the hidden symbols of a powerful but misunderstood art

The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism

Vincent B. Leitch, William E. Cain, Laurie A. Finke, John P. McGowan, Barbara Johnson, Jeffrey L. Williams · 2,624 pages

This welcome addition to the Norton anthologies binds the writings from 148 authors--among them Gorgias of Leontini, Plato, Aristotle, Horace, Longinus, Quintilian, Dante, Corneille, Dryden, Aphra Behn, Vico, Wollstonecraft, Coleridge, Poe, Baudelaire, Lukacs, Heidegger, Gramsci, Barthes, Raymond Williams, Haraway, Hebdige, hooks, Judith Butler, and the most recent theorist, Stuart Moulthrop.

The Culture Industry

Theodor W. Adorno · 194 pages

"The creation of the Frankfurt School of critical theory in the 1920s saw the birth of some of the most exciting and challenging writings of the twentieth century. It is out of this background that the great critic Theodor Adorno emerged. His finest essays are collected here, offering the reader unparalleled insights into Adorno's thoughts on culture. He argued that the culture industry commodifie

South Park and Philosophy: You Know, I Learned Something Today

Robert Arp · 273 pages

Superheroes and Philosophy: Truth, Justice, and the Socratic Way

Tom Morris, William Irwin · 290 pages

A collection of essays by various authors that explore how superheroes deal with a variety of philosophical issues.

Lost and Philosophy: The Island Has Its Reasons

Sharon M. Kaye · 282 pages

"Lost", created by wunderkind JJ Abrams and aired on the US ABC network and Sky in the UK, began in 2004 and ends after its sixth season in 2010.