sociology of youth 2
DESCRIPTION
A quick introduction to classical sociological theories and youth development practiceTRANSCRIPT
Sociology of Youth Studies
Critical Practice
Mini Lecture
Dr Fiona Beals
0 Took notion of anomie further by looking at strain
0 Society defines success (goals and means)
0 Resource & Opportunities differ0 If strain:
0 Conformity +/+0 Innovation +/-0 Ritualism -/+0 Retreatism -/-0 Rebellion -+/-+
Strain - Merton
0 Started with Durkheim – the person is labelled deviant but really they ‘differ’ to the norms established
0 Developed further by Mead who argued that we develop our identity through interactions with others – if we are called a criminal we see ourselves as a criminal
0 The Outsiders – Becker look at ‘dope smokers’. Becker argued that society applies rules onto people and defines deviant behaviour.
0 The labelling of people leads to the deviant using the labelling as a reason for their behaviour
0 Stereotyping and the self-fulfiling prophecy
Labelling - Becker
0 Media, labelling and the reaction to deviance
0 Mods and the Rockers0 Milk Bar Cowboys0 Popular reaction to a challenge
to the social order0 Five stages
0 Concern0 Hostility0 Disproportionality0 Volatility
Moral Panic – Stanley Cohen
Eric Harris & Dylan Klebold
0 White middle-class ‘normal’ kids0 Both held racist views about blacks0 Both had interests in the occult0 Both had diaries0 Both had negative experiences in the classroom0 Both belonged to a group (The Trench Coat Mafia) …
The Shootings0 Planned for the 19th of April0 Happened on the 20th April0 12 students and one teacher were killed0 Brought immediate responses from the
media and the President
www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html
The Media Reaction
0 Shootings were extensively covered for months after the event0 Denver Post had 750 articles on the shootings in the six
months following the incident0 Denver Post won a Pulitzer Prize
0 The media reaction has been analysed in academic articles, web-forums, and movies0 Bowling for Columbine
0 Build on the work of Marx0 Society is built on class divisions0 Progress is the economic
advancement of one class0 There is a play of power0 Capitalism doesn’t benefit everyone
0 Gramsci 0 Hegemony allows for cultural
domination0 The Organic intellectual
0 Bourdieu0 Social, Cultural and Symbolic Capital0 Hegemony in socialisation – symbolic
violence (blindess)
Countercultural Theories
0 Subcultural Theories0 Chicago School (Merton)
0 Thrasher0 Albert Cohen0 Gangs – subcultures can be defined
through their delinquent behaviours0 Birmingham School (Marx)
0 Phil Cohen0 Subcultures take on styles0 Are working-class0 The style is a voice of resistance and
the taking on of labels0 Countercultures0 Recent developments
Countercultural Theories
0 Influenced by the work of Foucault, Said and Wittigenstein
0 The concept of ‘adolescence’ is a social construction
0 Inequalities are way deeper than class
0 Exploring our history can reveal how the traces of inequalities remain today
0 Psychology is a deeply problematic western science
0 Authenticity and identity are key
Postmodern Understandings
Case Studies: Smashproof: Brother
Tru Rez Crew: I’m a Lucky One
WarParty: Feelin’ Reserved