Intro to studing subcultures
The grand story of subcultures tends to be narrated in English (centered on the U.S., U.K. and then
globalized). Why?

A micro quizz
•What do we do in this course?
•
•a) We look for the final definition of subcultures.
•b) We perform an original research of a selected subculture. •c) We try to see how scholars
thought of subcultures.
•

Where is gender in all this?
•Are subcultures/popular culture/youth gendered terms?
•Ehm what does it mean a „gendered term“?
•Well... what is gender?
•
a)A fancier term for women.
b)It means both men and women but it mainly studies women and LGBT groups.
c)A category of analysis which functions similar to class, ethnicity, age or ‘race’ – it allows for
representations of our social worlds.

Critical reading skills
•When was the text written? Who wrote it? What school/tradition/discipline is s/he affiliated to?
•What problem did s/he study and why?
•How did s/he approach it? Consider 1) the disciplinary background (sociology, philosophy,
journalism etc.), 2) the method (How was the research executed, how was data collected etc.), and
3) the style of the text (How is it written? How is information distributed in the text and
communicated to the reader?)

Discussion - preparation
• What does this text discuss? What main problem is identified?
•Highlight and summarize some of the substantial claims this text proposes. (How? Ideas, claims,
assumptions, evidence, reasoning...)
•On p.32, the author claims "The small community often tolerates eccentricity. The city, on the
contrary, rewards it." How do you understand this claim? (Discussion)
Consider its meaning with respect to the text as well as with respect to your experience, your
knowledge of city life. (Contextualize, historicize!)
•Think about the place you come from. Could Park's suggestions be applied to it? If not, why?
(Personalize!)

Group work: design a research!
•p.32 “The attraction of the metropolis is due in part, however, to the fact that in the long run
every individual finds somewhere among the varied manifestations of city life the sort of
environment in which he expands and feels at ease; finds, in short, the moral climate in which his
peculiar nature obtains the stimulations that bring his innate dispositions to full and free
expression.”
•How do you understand this assumption?

Group work: design a research!
•“It is, I suspect, motives of this kind which have their basis, not in interest nor even in
sentiment, but in something more fundamental and primitive which draw many, if not most, of the
young men and young women from the security of their homes in the country into the big, booming
confusion and excitement of city life.” •This proposition is not backed up by evidence. How would
you proceed to verify/refute it?
•