The Subcultures Reader

"Subcultures are groups of people that are represented - or who represent themselves - as distinct from normative social values or 'mainstream' culture through their particular interests and practices, through what they are, what they do and where they do it. They come in many forms, from teds and skinheads to skateboarders, clubbers, New Age travellers, graffiti artists and comic book fans. 'The Subcultures Reader' brings together key writings on subcultures, beginning with the early work of the Chicago School on 'deviant' social groups such as gangs and taxi-dancers, and research from the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the University of Birmingham during the 1970s on working-class youth cultures and punks. In this fully revised and updated second edition, these classic texts are combined with essential contemporary writings on a variety of subcultural formations defined through their social position, their styles and language, their bodies and their sexuality, their music and their media. Subcultures can be local and face-to-face ; but they can also be global, mediated and 'virtual'. This new edition gives expression to the rich diversity of subcultural locations, from underworlds, bohemias and micro-communities to scenes, 'tribes' and the 'global underground'."--back cover.