The Subcultures Reader - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0415127270 ISBN 13: 9780415127271

Publisher: Routledge, 1997

Synopsis

Introducing new, contemporary essays and critique to sit alongside classic and canonical texts on subculture, The Subcultures Reader 2nd Edition is the only collected work of its kind in the field, bringing together the most valuable and stimulating writings from the Chicago School to the present day.

From teds, punks and ravers, taxi-dancers, zoot-suiters and drug-takers, to football 'hooligans', Star Trekkers and internet junkies, male prostitutes, cross-dressers and queers, subcultures come in many forms how and why they developed.

All the articles have been specially selected and edited for inclusion in the Reader and are grouped in sections, each with an editor's introduction. There is also a general introduction to the collection, which traces the historical development and key concerns of subcultural studies.

Giving expression to the diversity of subcultural identifications, from communities and 'tribes', to the 'global underground, the Reader is an essential guide to the subject. It enables students and teachers to understand how subcultural studies developed, the range of work it encompasses, and provides potential future directions of study throughout the field.

About this title

Review:

First coined in the 1940s, the term "subculture" has been applied to society's most interesting, and, often, most inventive elements. Through a collection of articles written over the last 50 years, this book traces both the history of the academic study of subcultures and the history of subcultures themselves. While you'll find the usual assortment of articles on punk rock, street gangs, and Star Trek fans, what is perhaps most interesting are the articles from the early days of "subculture studies." Two of the highlights include a piece by Paul G. Cressey on 1930s taxi dancers and their opinions on race and class, and an article by Howard Becker on the language and attitudes of jazz musicians in the early '60s. The 55 selections in this volume offer a rich spectrum of subcultures and the academic responses they have evoked.

About the Author:

Ken Gelder is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Melbourne. He is the author of Reading the Vampire, also available from Routledge. Sarah Thornton is Lecturer in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Sussex.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0415127270
• ISBN 13: 9780415127271
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 616
• Editor: Gelder Ken, Sarah Thornton