Course syllabus

SOCIOL 225: Outsiders – Youth and Adult Subcultures

2018 (Semester 2) Course Outline

 

Lecturer: Dr Bruce Cohen

Office Hours: Wednesdays 4-5pm, Fridays 12.30-1.30pm

Room: HSB 934, Department of Sociology

Tel: 09-373-7599, extn. 89497

E-mail: b.cohen@auckland.ac.nz

 

General course information

This course is taught through two lectures (of 1 hour each) and one ‘super-tutorial’ session (1 hour) per week. The University’s general expectation is that each undergraduate course requires an average of ten hours work per week. This includes lecture and tutorial attendance, reading of the required texts, as well as additional study towards reaching the learning outcomes and successfully completing related assignments.

Lectures:

Thursdays 5-6pm and Fridays 4-5pm

Super-Tutorials:

Please attend one super-tutorial session per week after completing the related mandatory reading(s) for that week. There are no tutorials in the first week of this course and no tutorials after week 8 of the course.

Tutors:

Contact details for our tutor(s) will be announced on Canvas during the first week of teaching. Please use your tutor’s office hours rather than email; using email may cause considerable delays in getting a response from your tutor. Please check this course outline for the information you may require, please also use the lecturer’s office hours.    

Course objectives

The learning aims of the course are to:

  • familiarize students with historical and contemporary issues surrounding youth and adult subcultures;
  • facilitate students’ critical understanding of the social, economic, cultural and political contexts in which youth and adult subcultures occur;
  • enable students to critically analyze and theorize ‘subcultures’ through engagement with sociological theory and scholarship.

How to get good marks in this course!

A few years ago I wrote an email to my SOCIOL 225 class suggesting ways in which students could improve their marks. As you start this course, the points below may not all immediately make sense, but they will do by the time you come to do your first assignment. Please memorise them!  

a) Understanding/critical thinking around subcultural theory: this should always be central in your assessments. Be clear in outlining, explaining and analyzing theories and concepts; to do this you need to understand the main ideas and be able to articulate them: this might sound obvious, but my most well-used terms when marking [in previous years] were "vague" and "confused" (which usually arises when people are not sure of the theory/concept themselves).

b) Key terms in subcultures that are under-used/under-conceptualised in student essays: capitalism, inequalities, hegemony, power, social structure, social class, status frustration, symbolic resistance. Related to point (a) above, explanations of the theory will be really limited without involving these concepts. These concepts need to be understood properly, AND they need to be debated within the context of our 21st century society (even if society has changed, some very old theories can still be very relevant! Do think it through).

c) The Chicago School and the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS): generally, people are aware of the importance of these two schools of thought within subcultural studies, however they are less aware of the importance of more contemporary theorists (which we will/have also studied) who have written on subcultures and offered critiques as well as new ideas and directions (the most obvious is the 'Post-Subcultures' writers, but there are also plenty of others). [Previous] Assessments too often criticize the Chicago School and the CCCS theories as "out of date", yet curiously fail to consider more contemporary alternatives.

d) Read/research more: to effectively achieve points (a) to (c) above, there's no alternative. The more you read and take notes, the more possibility there is of having a real depth of analysis to your work. This will involve reading substantially more than the compulsory weekly readings for this course.

Course assessments

The assessments for this course consist of two project essays (First Essay and Second Essay), each is worth 50% of the final course mark. There are no exams, tests, or other assignments for this course.

There is no hard copy hand-in for this course; please do not attempt to hand in a hard copy essay to any of the teaching team, we will not mark it! Please upload both essays to Canvas, which is automatically linked to Turnitin (no additional class IDs, passwords, or cover sheets are required). This course uses Turnitin’s Grademark for essay marking and feedback. The lecturer will notify the class when feedback on the essays becomes available.

Note: please avoid direct repetition of the theoretical arguments in each of your essays. Overlap between each essay discussion is sometimes unavoidable, but the deliberate use of (e.g.) Albert Cohen and the Chicago School as the main scholar/theory in both essays will result in a loss of marks.                   

First Essay

(2,500 words including references; 50% of final mark)

Upload essay by 6pm on Monday 20 August

Critically assess the contribution of ONE of the following scholars to academic knowledge and work on subcultures:

  • Andy Bennett
  • Albert Cohen
  • Phil Cohen
  • Ross Haenfler
  • Stuart Hall
  • Dick Hebdige
  • Paul Hodkinson
  • Tony Jefferson
  • Richard Kahn
  • Angela McRobbie
  • David Muggleton
  • Steve Redhead
  • Sarah Thornton

This assignment gives you the opportunity to assess the theoretical innovations and arguments of a specific scholar to subcultural study (most of whom we will cover in the first half of the course). In critically assessing the scholar’s contributions, you must consider the main ideas that they have forwarded regarding the nature of ‘subcultures’ (or, if they reject this concept, the nature and form of the alterative grouping they have identified, and how this relates to thinking critically about ‘subcultures’), as well as the limitations and criticisms of these ideas highlighted by other scholars.

Second Essay

(2,500 words including references; 50% of final mark)

Upload essay by 6pm on Monday 24 September

Critically examine a ‘subculture’ of your choice.

In completing this assignment you should include the following:-

-Description of your subculture: include the myths (values, beliefs, etc.), symbols (language, style, behaviour, activities, etc.) and purposes (aims, goals, etc.) that can be detected.

-Interrogate your subculture utilising subcultural theory: analyse the extent to which your chosen grouping can be considered a ‘subculture’ or not. (Note: This component should form the majority of your essay and is where you will gain the most marks!).

Be sure to note demographic details (e.g. social class, gender, ethnicity, and age range), historical context, similarities and differences with any similar subcultures (for example, other music, crime, religious, lifestyle, or style subcultures), contradictions in theoretical perspectives on your subculture, etc.

You are welcome to include an Appendix with your finished essay: this can include pictures, photos, newspaper articles, music lyrics, etc. which can help highlight points in your essay. The Appendix will be excluded from the word count.

Important notes on the completion of the assignments

In line with International Sociological Association policy, the use of sexist, racist or homophobic language will not be tolerated on this course.

In completing your assignments successfully you should:

  • include a full title at the beginning of each assessment which clearly outlines the focus of your essay;
  • demonstrate a clear structure, including the clear marking/naming of different sections;
  • include specific thinkers, theories, texts, sources and examples;
  • include a minimum of 10 academic references (e.g. journal articles, books, chapters, etc.) in both essays;
  • use good English, with appropriate punctuation, avoiding slang and abbreviations;
  • include a bibliography which contains all the references used in the main text of your essays;
  • comply with APA or Harvard referencing styles;
  • include a word count total at the end of each essay.

Please note that marks will be deducted for lateness (1 mark per day), for being more than 10% under or over the word limit, and for poor referencing (both in-text and end reference list).

Please plan your background research and writing appropriately. I will no longer accept assessments for marking if they are over a week late – in these cases the work will receive no mark.

Please check your assignment matching score in advance on Turnitin (you can re-submit your assignment on Turnitin up until the official deadline date/time). Assignments with a match score higher than 40% on Turnitin will receive no mark.

 Course readings

 Please see the SOCIOL 225 ‘Reading Lists’ page on Canvas to access the mandatory weekly course readings. There is no hard copy reader or text book for this course, though I can highly recommend Ken Gelder’s Subcultures Reader as a great additional resource (new copies are expensive, but there are a few older editions available in the library).

The following section outlines the mandatory and additional weekly readings; the section after gives a more general list of subcultural readers which might help ground further study.   

Lecture topics, required reading, and additional reading

 Week 1: Introduction – why study subcultures?

Required Reading

Gelder, Ken (2005) ‘Introduction: The Field of Subcultural Studies’, in Gelder, Ken (ed.) The Subcultures Reader, 2nd edition (pp. 1-15). New York: Routledge.

Further Reading

Bennett, Andy and Kahn-Harris, Keith (2004) ‘Introduction’, in Bennett, Andy and Kahn-Harris, Keith (eds.) After Subculture: Critical Studies in Contemporary Youth Culture (pp. 1-18). Houndmills: Palgrave.

Williams, Patrick J. (2007) ‘Youth Subcultural Studies: Sociological Traditions and Core Concepts’, Sociology Compass, 1/2: 572-593.

Week 2: The Chicago School

Required Reading

Cohen, Albert K. (2005) ‘A General Theory of Subcultures’, in Gelder, Ken (ed.) The Subcultures Reader, 2nd edition (pp. 50-59). New York: Routledge.

Further Reading

Burgess, Ernest W. (2000) ‘The Growth of the City: An Introduction to a Research Project’, in LeGates, Richard and Stout, Frederic (eds.) The City Reader, 2nd edition (pp. 153-161). London: Routledge.

Park, Robert E. (1925) ‘Community Organization and Juvenile Delinquency’, in Park, Robert E., Burgess, Ernest W. and McKenzie, Roderick D. (eds.) The City (pp. 99-112). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Week 3: The Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies

Required Reading

Clarke, John, Hall, Stuart, Jefferson, Tony, and Roberts, Brian (2006) ‘Subcultures, Cultures and Class’, in Hall, Stuart and Jefferson, Tony (eds.) Resistance Through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain, 2nd edition (pp.3-59). Abingdon: Routledge.

Further Reading

Clarke, Gary (1990) ‘Defending Ski-Jumpers: A Critique of Theories of Youth Subcultures’, in Frith, Simon and Goodwin, Andrew (eds.) On Record: Rock, Pop, and the Written Word (pp. 81-96). Abingdon: Routledge.

Irwin, John (2005) ‘Notes on the Status of the Concept of Subculture’, in Gelder, Ken (ed.) The Subcultures Reader, 2nd edition (pp. 73-77). New York: Routledge.

Jensen, Sune Qvotrup (2006) ‘Rethinking Subcultural Capital’, Young, 14(3): 257–276.

McRobbie, Angela (1991) Feminism and Youth Culture: From 'Jackie' to 'Just seventeen'. Basingstoke: Macmillan.

Thornton, Sarah (1995) Club Cultures: Music, Media and Subcultural Capital. Cambridge: Polity.

Week 4: Post-Subcultural Studies: Critiques and Alternatives

Required Reading

Weinzierl, Rupert and Muggleton, David (2003) ‘What is ‘Post-Subcultural Studies’ Anyway?’, in Muggleton, David and Weinzierl, Rupert (eds.) The Post-Subcultures Reader (pp. 3-23). Oxford: Berg.

Further Reading

Bennett, Andy (1999) ‘Subcultures or Neo-Tribes? Rethinking the Relationship between Youth, Style and Musical Taste’, Sociology, 33 (3): 599-617.

Hall, Stuart and Jefferson, Tony (2006) ‘Once more around Resistance Through Rituals’, in Hall, Stuart and Jefferson, Tony (eds.) Resistance Through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain, 2nd edition (pp. vii-xxxii). Abingdon: Routledge.

Hall, Stuart, (2007) ‘The Hippies: An American Moment’ in Gray, A., Campbell, J., Erickson, M., Hanson, S., Wood, H. (eds.) CCCS Selected Working Papers Volume 2 (pp. 146-167). Abingdon: Routledge.

Muggleton, David (2005) ‘From Classlessness to Clubculture: A Genealogy of Post-War British Youth Cultural Analysis’, Young, 13(2): 205–219.

Week 5: Rethinking Subcultural Resistance – Punk, Straightedge and Northern Soul

Required Reading

Haenfler, Ross (2004) ‘Rethinking Subcultural Resistance: Core Values of the Straight Edge Movement’, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 33 (4): 406-436.

Further Reading

Haenfler, Ross (2006) Straight Edge: Clean-Living Youth, Hardcore Punk, and Social Change. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. 

Hebdige, Dick (1979) Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Methuen.

Week 6: Gendered Subcultures? Surfing and Skating

Required Reading

Beal, Becky (1996) ‘Alternative Masculinity and its effects on Gender Relations in the Subculture of Skateboarding’, Journal of Sport Behavior, 19 (3): 204-220.

Stedman, Leanne (1997) ‘From Gidget to Gonad Man: Surfers, Feminists and Postmodernisation’, Journal of Sociology, 33 (1): 75-90.

Further Reading

Pearson, John Kent (1979) Surfing Subcultures of Australia and New Zealand. St. Lucia: University of Queensland Press.

Week 7: Virtual and Global (Sub)cultures? Goth, Rave and Hip Hop

Required Reading

Greener, Tracey and Hollands, Robert (2006) ‘Beyond Subculture and Post-subculture? The Case of Virtual Psytrance’, Journal of Youth Studies, 9 (4): 393-418.

Further Reading

Boero, N., and Pascoe, C.J. (2012), Pro-anorexia Communities and Online Interaction: Bringing the Pro-ana Body online’, Body and Society, 18 (2) pp.27-57.

Dias, Karen (2003) ‘The Ana Sanctuary: Women’s Pro-Anorexia Narratives in Cyberspace’, Journal of International Women’s Studies, 4, (2), (April 2003), pp. 31-45.

Gelder, Ken (2007) Subcultures: Cultural Histories and Social Practice. London: Routledge, pp. 107-121.

Hodkinson, Paul (2005) ‘Communicating Goth: On-line Media’, in Gelder, Ken (ed.) The Subcultures Reader, 2nd edition (pp. 564-574). New York: Routledge.

Mitchell, Tony (2003) ‘Australian Hip Hop’, Youth Studies Australia, 22 (2): 40-47.

Kahn, Richard and Kellner, Douglas (2003) ‘Internet Subcultures and Oppositional Politics’, in Muggleton, David and Weinzierl, Rupert (eds.) The Post-Subcultures Reader. London: Berg.

Roberts, Martin (2005) ‘Notes on the Global Underground: Subcultures and Globalization’, in Gelder, Ken (ed.) The Subcultures Reader, 2nd edition (pp. 575-586). New York: Routledge.

Wilson, Brian and Atkinson, Michael (2005) ‘Rave and Straightedge, the Virtual and the Real: Exploring Online and Offline Experiences in Canadian Youth Subcultures’, Youth & Society, 36 (3): 276-311.

Wright, Robert (2000) ‘‘I’d Sell You Suicide’: Pop Music and Moral Panic in the Age of Marilyn Manson’, Popular Music, 19 (3): 365-385.

Week 8: Criminalised Subcultures? Graffiti and Street Art Subcultures

[no required reading]

Further Reading

Macdonald, Nancy (2001) The Graffiti Subculture: Youth, Masculinity and Identity in London and New York. Houndmills: Palgrave, pp. 63-93.

Macdonald, Nancy (2001/2005) ‘The Graffiti Subculture: Making a World of Difference’, in Gelder, Ken (ed.) The Subcultures Reader, 2nd edition (pp. 312-325). New York: Routledge.

MacDowall, Lachlan (2006) ‘In Praise of 70K: Cultural Heritage and Graffiti Style’, Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, 20 (4): 471-484.

Week 9: Subculture as Performance and Style? Tattoo and Piercing Subcultures

[no required reading/tutorials]

Further Reading

Sweetman, Paul (1999) ‘Anchoring the (Postmodern) Self? Body Modification, Fashion and Identity’, Body & Fashion, 5 (2-3): 51-76.

Atkinson, Michael (2003) Tattooed: The Sociogenesis of a Body Art. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Week 10: Subcultures 4 Life? Urban and Rural Subcultures

[no required reading/tutorials]

Further Reading

Hetherington, Kevin (2000) New Age Travellers: Vanloads of uproarious humanity. London: Cassell, pp. 1-40.

Levinson, Martin P. and Sparkes, Andrew C. (2004) ‘Gypsy Identity and Orientations to Space’, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 33 (6): 704-734.

Possamai, Adam (2000) ‘A Profile of New Agers: Social and Spiritual Aspects’, Journal of Sociology, 36 (3): 364-377

Week 11: Subcultures Documentary Workshop

[no required reading/tutorials]

[Week 12: No lectures]

[no required reading/tutorials]

Further readings and other resources

Baddeley, Gavin (2010) Goths, Vamps, and Dandies. London: Plexus.

Bennett, Andy (2000) Popular Music and Youth Culture. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Bennett, Andy and Kahn-Harris, Keith (eds.) (2004) After Subculture: Critical Studies in Contemporary Youth Culture. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Brake, Mike (1980) The Sociology of Youth Culture and Youth Subcultures: Sex and Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Brake, Mike (1985) Comparative Youth Culture: The Sociology of Youth Cultures and Youth Subcultures in America, Britain, and Canada. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Butcher, Melissa (2003) Ingenious: Emerging Youth Cultures in Urban Australia. Annandale: Pluto Press.

Cohen, Stanley (1972) Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and Rockers. London: MacGibbon and Kee.

Gair, Christopher (2008) The Beat Generation: A Beginners' Guide. University of Michigan: Oneworld.

Gelder, Ken, (2005) The Subcultures Reader, 2nd edition. New York: Routledge.

Gelder, Ken (2007) Subcultures: Cultural Histories and Social Practice. Abingdon: Routledge.

Goodlad, Lauren M.E., and Bibby, Michael (2007). Goth: Undead Subculture. North Carolina: Duke UP.

Gray, Jonathan, Sandvoss, Cornel and Harrington, C. Lee (eds.) (2007) Fandom: Identities and Communities in a Mediated World. New York: New York University Press.

Haenfler, Ross (2014) Subcultures: The Basics. Abingdon: Routledge.

Hall, Stuart and Jefferson, Tony (eds.) (1976) Resistance through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain. London: Hutchinson.

Hebdige, Dick (1979) Subculture: The Meaning of Style. London: Methuen.

Huq, Rupa (2006) Beyond Subculture: Pop, Youth and Identity in a Postcolonial World. London: Routledge.

Jenks, Chris (2005) Subculture: The Fragmentation of the Social. London: Sage.

Johansson, Thomas (2007) The Transformation of Sexuality: Gender and Identity in Contemporary Youth Culture. Aldershot: Ashgate.

Kephart, William M. (1982) Extraordinary Groups: The Sociology of Unconventional Life-Styles, 2nd edition. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Laughey, Dan (2006) Music and Youth Culture. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP.

Leblanc, Lauraine (1999) Pretty in Punk: Girls' Gender Resistance in a Boys' Subculture. Rutgers, NJ.: Rutgers UP.

Muggleton, David (2000) Inside Subculture: The Postmodern Meaning of Style. Oxford: Berg.

Mungham, Geoff and Pearson, Geoff (eds.) (1976) Working Class Youth Culture. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Nilan, Pam and Feixa, Carles (eds.) (2006) Global Youth? Hybrid Identities, Plural Worlds. New York: Routledge.

Pearson, John Kent (1979) Surfing Subcultures of Australia and New Zealand. St. Lucia: University of Queensland Press.

Redhead, Steve (1997) Subculture to Clubcultures: An Introduction to Popular Cultural Studies. Oxford: Blackwell.

Savage, Jon (2011) England's Dreaming: The Sex Pistols and Punk Rock. London: Faber & Faber.

Sefton-Green, Julian (ed.) (1998) Digital Diversions: Youth Culture in the Age of Multimedia. London: UCL Press.

Skelton, Tracey and Valentine, Gill (eds.) (1997) Cool Places: Geographies of Youth Cultures. London: Routledge.

Thornton, Sarah (1995) Club Cultures: Music, Media and Subcultural Capital. Oxford: Polity.

Willis, Paul E. (1978) Profane Culture. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Sociology podcast

I can highly recommend the weekly BBC Radio 4 podcast ‘Thinking Allowed’ hosted by reformed criminologist Laurie Taylor. His discussions often cover issues of crime, deviancy, subcultures, and other topics relevant to this course, and features commentaries from sociologists and related social scientists. You can also access about five years of back issues of the programme. Well worth a look:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/ta

 Library resources

Please use the library and familiarise yourself with all the wonderful resources we have on our doorstep. You will find the Sociology librarian particularly useful when undertaking background research towards completion of your essays:

Anahera Morehu

Arts Information Services l Toi Aronui

Level 1, General Library

Phone: 09-923-8053 (extn. 82881)

Email: a.morehu@auckland.ac.nz

Sociology & Criminology library web page:

http://www.library.auckland.ac.nz/subject-guides/socio/socsubj.htm

Getting help

Help with Sociology essays:

http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/

 Student Learning Services: 

https://www.library.auckland.ac.nz/services/student-learning

This course uses the Turnitin electronic plagiarism detection service. This means that you must submit an electronic version of each assignment to Canvas - which is now automatically linked to Turnitin (no additional passwords or IDs are required). Plagiarism continues to be a significant issue at universities worldwide. This service helps to safeguard the value of your degree.

Acknowledgement of sources is an important aspect of academic writing. The University’s Referen©ite website www.cite.auckland.ac.nz provides students with a one-stop online resource for academic referencing needs. Referen©ite explains the essentials of referencing and how to avoid plagiarism. It also includes practical tools to help students reference correctly, use references effectively in writing, and gives fast access to some major reference formats with examples. 

If you need further help, information, or advice please also consider…

 The Student Learning Service

  • WAVES advocate (advocate@ausa.org.nz)
    See: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/for/current-students/cs-student-support-and-services/cs-personal-support/student-advocacy-service.html#bad6e6d0ba6c6c89445a3cb683d0ea41
  • Disability Services
  • A University Counsellor
  • A University Chaplain
  • The University Mediator

Student Charter: http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/for/current-students/cs-academic-information/cs-regulations-policies-and-guidelines/cs-student-charter

Course summary:

Date Details Due