Youth studies as a whole is flourishing. Yet, within this broad field, certain topics consistently stand out as subjects to which we continually return. There is a persistent interest in youth subcultures, and of the complexities, ambiguities and continuities of street culture and youth group formation over time.
Youth subcultures, in varying forms, share many of the attributes of similar phenomena in the past yet, they incorporate in dynamic fashion the latest developments in technology, the influence of globalised communications, ever-fluid ideas about identity and the self, and widely varying commitment, consciousness and purposes.
Through case studies and historical sketches of a wide range of experiences throughout Australia, the book explores young people’s activities and behaviour, from bodgies and widgies in the 1950s through to the metalcore subgenres of the 21st century. It also examines the factors underlying the formation of diverse youth subcultures and reviews the theoretical debates on the interpretation of the cultural experiences of young people.
This classic text provides the grounding for an informed understanding of such processes now and into the future across three distinct aspects:
Youth subcultures revisited
Rob White
1. Re-assessing street kids
Gordon Tait
2. Youth theory: Marx or Foucault?
Howard Sercombe
3. Marxism & subculture
Sean Moysey
4. Sub-versions
Sandra Taylor
5. Aboriginal young people and youth Subcultures
Dave Palmer & Len Collard
6. Islands in the mainstream
Roger Slee & Sandy Cook
7. Cultural studies, youth culture & Delinquency
Kerry Carrington
8. Australian hip hop as a subculture
Tony Mitchell
9. The continuing importance of the ‘cultural’ in the study of youth
Andy Bennett
10. ‘Youth culture’: Disturbing priorities?
Bruce Wilson & Johanna Wyn
11. Young people researching their own cultures
Bev Beasley
12. Doing ethnography with young people
Rob Watts
13. Young women’s complex lives and the idea of youth transitions
Jennifer Buchanan
14. Youth subcultures, deviancy and the media
Paul Walton
15. On the streets
Lynette Finch
16. A patchwork
Judith Bessant
17. Bodgies and widgies
Jon Stratton
18. Youth, class AND Subcultures In Riots at the Bathurst bike races
Chris Cunneen & Rob Lynch
19. In: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Out: Jason Donovan
Carey Denholm
20. Reflections on youth subcultures
Kenneth Polk
21. Girls, schooling and subcultures of resistance
Linley Walker
22. Piercings and passports
Paula Rowe
23. Youth-generated cultures in Western Sydney
Linda Forrester
24. Young people, dangerous driving and car culture
Hannah Graham & Rob White
25. Skateboarders, streets and style
David Snow
26. Homies and homebrewz
Miguel d’Souza and Kurt Iveson
27. Bubbling acid
Sebastian Chan
28. Good Buddha AND TZU
Ben Connor
29. is dIY doa?
Anita Harris
30. Like, I’ll tell you what happened from experience …
Paula M Foote
31. Sociality online
Catherine Waite
“The study of youth cultures and subcultures is highly relevant in describing, explaining and interpreting the life worlds of young people. How young people organise themselves, the groups they create, the fashions and fads of which they are a part, the activities and behaviours they exhibit – all of these provide interesting and fascinating insights into the nature of the times.”
Rob White is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Criminology Research Unit at the University of Tasmania's School of Sociology and Social Work. Professor White is an internationally respected scholar in the fields of youth studies, sociology and criminology, and environmental and ecological justice. Among his books are: Youth & society; Youth subcultures; No space of their own; Juvenile justice; Crime & criminology; Crime & social control; Crime & society; Controversies in environmental sociology; Crime prevention; and Crimes against nature. He has extensive practical experience in working with youth and community workers, police services, teachers, drug and alcohol workers, government policymakers and academic researchers.