This book presents a cultural history of subcultures; covering a remarkable range of subcultural forms and practices. It begins with Londonrsquo;s lsquo;Elizabethan underworldrsquo;; taking the rogue and vagabond as subcultural prototypes: the basis for Marxrsquo;s later view of subcultures as the lumpenproletariat; and Henry Mayhewrsquo;s view of subcultures as lsquo;those that will not workrsquo;. Subcultures are always in some way non-conforming or dissenting. They are social - with their own shared conventions; values; rituals; and so on ndash; but they can also seem lsquo;immersedrsquo; or self-absorbed. This book identifies six key ways in which subcultures have generally been understood:through their often negative relation to work: idle; parasitical; hedonistic; criminaltheir negative or ambivalent relation to classtheir association with territory - the lsquo;streetrsquo;; the lsquo;hoodrsquo;; the club - rather than propertytheir movement away from home into non-domestic forms of lsquo;belongingrsquo;their ties to excess and exaggeration (as opposed to restraint and moderation)their refusal of the banalities of ordinary life and in particular; of massification.Subcultures looks at the way these features find expression across many different subcultural groups: from the Ranters to the riot grrrls; from taxi dancers to drag queens and kings; from bebop to hip hop; from dandies to punk; from hobos to leatherfolk; and from hippies and bohemians to digital pirates and virtual communities. It argues that subcultural identity is primarily a matter of narrative and narration; which means that its focus is literary as well as sociological. It also argues for the idea of a subcultural geography: that subcultures inhabit places in particular ways; their investment in them being as much imaginary as real and; in some cases; strikingly utopian.
#2482786 in eBooks 2007-01-24 2007-01-24File Name: B000SEH2YU
Review
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Great collection and great linear designsBy DachsieloverAs with all of Dover publications of illustrators work; it is hard to know if the colors here are true (Dovers picture books are often too bluish or greenish or brownish); but even if theyre not quite right the pictures LOOK great. About half of the illustrations are black and white; which Dover does well. There is a wide variety of pictures; many Id never seen before. The illustrations come from 17 of Cranes books and include one of wallpaper; a wall hanging and some gallery paintings. I think its a good book for the money.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. A versatile artistBy ChrijeffLike many of the Golden Age artists; Walter Crane; though primarily remembered as an illustrator of childrens books; did much more than that. As shown here; he ranged from the richly colored line drawings of the so-called "toybooks" and Babys Opera and its counterparts; to bold and powerful BW inks; delicate pastels; and even oils in the classic manner; the books he illustrated; from rhymed retellings of nursery tales; to songbooks; to new editions of Grimm; Shakespeare; Edmund Spenser; "Don Quixote;" and the legends of Robin Hood and King Arthur. He even assembled a collection of themed quotations he called Flowers From Shakespeares Garden: A Posy From The Plays (1906)--and did a very handsome self-portrait which appears as the frontispiece to the book. As one of the very earliest of the Golden Agers; he merits familiarity from those who appreciate beautiful illustration; and the examples collected here should make a good start toward that.