Close

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-subculture.html" title="Facts and informations about subculture">subculture</a>

subculture

subculture Widely and broadly used, the core idea of subcultural theory is of the formation of subcultures as a collective solution to, or resolution of, problems arising from the blocked aspirations of members, or their ambiguous position in the wider society. Thus subcultures are distinct from the larger culture but borrow (and often distort, exaggerate, or invert) its symbols, values, and beliefs. The concept is widely used in the sociology of deviance—particularly in studies of youth culture.

In the American tradition, a major influence has been Robert Merton's reformulation of Émile Durkheim's concept of anomie, whilst the influence of the Chicago School is also important to note. Albert K. Cohen (Delinquent Boys, 1955) argued that delinquent subcultures developed around adolescent status problems. He described the status frustration of young working-class men, taught at school to aspire to middle-class values, yet remaining tied to their limited, working-class opportunity structures. Faced with a lack of legitimate opportunities, status could only be achieved within a subculture of oppositional, expressive, hedonistic, and non-utilitarian values. Walter Miller (‘Lower-Class Culture as a Generating Milieu of Gang Delinquency’, Journal of Social Issues, 1958)
argued that delinquent subcultures were rooted in aspects of working-class culture; and, rather than being merely a reaction to middle-class society, were more an expressive emphasizing of the ‘focal concerns’ of the parent culture. Richard A. Cloward and and Lloyd B. Ohlin (Delinquency and Opportunity, 1960)
combined elements of the anomie approach with Edwin Sutherland's theory of differential association, identifying ‘strain’ as a result of the perceived blocking of legitimate means to attain internalized, conventional (middle-class) goals. Some youths resolved this strain by turning to the illegitimate opportunity structures of the local working-class community. Apart from legitimate opportunities these also offered ‘criminal’ or ‘conflict’ means of succeeding. ‘Retreatist’ behaviour (such as drug-taking or alcohol use) signalled a double failure to succeed in the spheres either of legitimate or illegitimate enterprise.

British subcultural studies have drawn heavily upon the American tradition, but frequently provided new perspectives: for example, in terms of the ways youth experiences British working-class culture ( D. Downes , The Delinquent Solution, 1966
); the bohemian hedonism of middle-class youth subcultures ( J. Young , The Drugtakers, 1971
); the idea of subcultures as arenas of ‘cultural resistance through ritual’ ( S. Hall and and T. Jefferson ( eds.) , Resistance through Rituals, 1976
); and ‘reading’ the meaning of style in subcultures ( R. Hebdige , Subculture: The Meaning of Style, 1979
).

Subcultures can arise, according to some authors at least, as forms of symbolic resistance within social institutions which reflect aspects of the social organization of wider society, including schools ( D. Hargreaves , Social Relations in a Secondary School, 1967
) and prisons ( G. Sykes , The Society of Captives, 1958
), or can provide wider networks for those seeking to assert the sense of difference they feel, for example as homosexuals (see K. Plummer , Sexual Stigma, 1975
). Feminist writers have explained the absence of girls from street youth culture by reference to a feminine ‘bedroom subculture’ (see A. McRobbie and and J. Garber , ‘Girls and Subcultures’, in S. Hall and and T. Jefferson ( eds.) , Resistance through Rituals, 1976
).

Subcultural theory can be criticized on several grounds. It can overdraw differences between (and, relatedly, overemphasize the internal homogeneity of) groups identified by, for example, their social class or their age. A consistent failing in subculture studies has been their neglect of women and non-White groups. The idea of a subculture implies difference from a dominant, superordinate host culture, yet it can be argued that the plurality and fragmentation of modern or post-modern culture erodes the significance of the former concept. Since, latterly, subcultural theory has come to embrace many different (by no means wholly compatible) theoretical standpoints, it is hard to formulate definitive assessments. However, Stanley Cohen has proffered a fairly damning critique of the ‘resistance through rituals’ tradition of British subcultural theory, arguing that the exercises of decoding and deciphering the subcultural styles in question (punk, skinhead, or whatever) are politically partisan, and ultimately unconvincing, since they nowhere address themselves to the explicit intentions of the research subjects themselves (Folk Devils and Moral Panics, 2nd edn., 1980
). See also Coleman, James S.

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

	Black, Hispanic, and White American mothers of adolescents: construction of a national standard. Magazine article from: Adolescence; 12/22/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...examine parenting in the context of subcultures without examining their relationship...groups or nations because data from subcultures are not combined to produce an overall...helpful basis for determining progress of subcultures and identifying particular changes that... Read more
	Jeremy Shaw: Best Minds Part One. Magazine article from: C: International Contemporary Art; 9/22/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...continuation of his interest in and exploration of subcultures, specifically youth subcultures and their function as a form of transcendence...content to mediate the representations of subcultures, with Best Minds Part One he adds a turn of... Read more
	The Place of the Photograph in Visual Narrative Research. (Project Statement). Magazine article from: Afterimage; 11/1/2001; ; 700+ words ; ...who actively connect their learning to subcultures of the performing and visual arts (1...relationships that connect to their subcultures (the arts and equestrian). Pictured...document their coming to know their subcultures and how the arts or equestrian experiences... Read more
	Say cheese.(Review & preview: September 1-7)(color photographs by Lauren Greenfield)(Brief Article) Magazine article from: Los Angeles Business Journal; 9/1/2003; 46 words ; Say Cheese: Girl Culture, an exhibition of 40 color photographs by Lauren Greenfield examining the social lives and subcultures of modern girls and women, opens on Thursday (4th) at the Skirball Cultural Center. Greenfield's earlier book was Fast... Read more
	The influence of subcultures on planned change in a community college.(Case study) Magazine article from: Community College Review; 12/22/2006; ; 700+ words ; ...nuanced understanding of the role of subcultures in planned change. Research indicates...conducted on the influence of organizational subcultures on planned change in community colleges...status. The influence of organizational subcultures on planned change has also been acknowledged... Read more
	Talk the Talk: The Slang of 65 American Subcultures.(Brief article)(Book review) Magazine article from: California Bookwatch; 12/1/2006; 100 words ; Talk the Talk: The Slang of 65 American Subcultures Luc Reid F&W Publications 4700 East...an unusual survey of modern slang and subcultures using it. Listings include each subculture...easy contrast and comparison between subcultures. More than just a simple terminology... Read more
	Subcultures, pop music and politics: skinheads and 'Nazi rock' in England and Germany.(Abstracts)(Brief Article) Magazine article from: Journal of Social History; 9/22/2004; 144 words ; Abstract: Timothy S. Brown, Subcultures, Pop Music and Politics: Skinheads and 'Nazi Rock' in England...the late-20th century: the dovetailing of music-based youth subcultures with radical politics. First prominent in the Counterculture... Read more
	Talk the talk; the slang of 65 American subcultures.(Brief Article)(Book Review) Magazine article from: Reference & Research Book News; 2/1/2007; 113 words ; 9781582974231 Talk the talk; the slang of 65 American subcultures. Reid, Luc. Writer's Digest Books 2006 422 pages...takes readers on a linguistic tour of 65 American subcultures, providing definitions and usage information on some... Read more
	The Cultic Milieu: Oppositional Subcultures in an Age of Globalization.(Book Reviews)(Book Review) Magazine article from: Sociology of Religion; 6/22/2004; ; 700+ words ; The Cultic Milieu: Oppositional Subcultures in an Age of Globalization, JEFFREY KAPLAN AND HELENE LOOW (eds.). Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, 2002, 360pp.; $75.00 (cloth... Read more
	Youthful Imagination: Schooling, Subcultures, and Social Justice.(Brief Article)(Book Review) Magazine article from: Reference & Research Book News; 8/1/2006; 121 words ; 0820468347 Youthful imagination; schooling, subcultures, and social justice. Tsolidis, Georgina. Peter Lang Publishing Inc 2006 203 pages $29.95 Paperback Adolescent cultures, school... Read more

For more facts and information, see all related premium articles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

	subculture Book article from: Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes subculture • botcher , gotcha, top-notcher, watcher, wotcha • imposture , posture •firewatcher • birdwatcher...agriculture • sericulture •arboriculture • pisciculture •horticulture • silviculture •subculture • counterculture ... Read more
	deviant subculture Book article from: A Dictionary of Sociology deviant subculture See SUBCULTURE . Read more
	Bare-Knuckle Prizefighting Book article from: American Eras Bare-Knuckle Prizefighting The Irish American Subculture. For much of the nineteenth century...the working-class Irish American male subculture. Often ostracized from respectable occupations...himself, was the hero of the bachelor subculture, which held fighting ability in the... Read more
	youth culture Book article from: A Dictionary of Sociology youth culture Strictly speaking a subculture , the subject of an influential debate between (mainly) functionalist...in Mike Brake , The Sociology of Youth Cultures and Youth Subcultures (1980) . Developments both in sociology and society itself... Read more
	Stiliagi Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of Russian History STILIAGI A Soviet youth subculture that emerged in the late 1940s and extended into the early 1960s. The term stiliagi first appeared in the Soviet press in 1949... Read more

See all related entries