The manual discusses issues related to the history of mass literature, the stages of its study in Russia and the West, identifies differential features of mass literature, establishes its place in the literary process and culture, the degree of influence on the readership, characterizes the language of mass literature texts in projections on the linguistic situation at the turn of the 20th–21st centuries. A special section of the manual is devoted to the philological analysis of the detective story, action novel, fantasy novel, romance novel, historical adventure novel, popular song and some other relevant genres of mass literature. The system of assignments attached to the main sections of the manual will allow you to organize classroom and independent work of students. For students of philology, cultural studies, sociology, bachelors, masters, and graduate students of humanities.