Abstract
The concept of the subculture is one that has come in to and fallen out of favour, and been utilized in varying ways, over the past century. This book looks at the development of subcultural theory and ultimately argues that it is an approach that should still be retained in sociology (and other related fields), as it is still a meaningful way of analysing certain groups within a society. In order to do this, Williams first gives a thorough overview of the development of subcultural studies, starting with the Chicago School in the first half of the 20th century, where the emphasis was mainly on deviance, then moving to the Birmingham School of the 1960s and 1970s, where class and ideology became more of a focus. The book then considers more recent trends in youth studies that moved beyond these early approaches, as postmodern theory brought identity formation to the forefront of social understanding. This led to a situation where subculture and the associations it had with class (from the Birmingham School approach) became less central to understanding youth cultures. However, Williams argues that by using a symbolic interactionist approach a more flexible definition of subcultures can be developed that addresses some of the issues with the term that had been identified by ‘post-subcultural’ theorists. This should be attempted, he says, not least because subcultures are demonstrably meaningful to those who participate in them.
For the rest of the book, Williams explores different aspects of subcultures, including moral panics, gender and class considerations, style, and issues around identity. At times he offers an overview of studies that have been done in the area, while in other places he puts forward suggestions for new theoretical approaches. In particular, the chapter on Resistance explores in detail an aspect of subcultures that is contentious, in that at times (such as in some of the work from the Birmingham school) it can be overemphasized, while in other work (such as that on neo-tribes) it disappears or is underemphasized. Williams offers a model of three dimensions of resistance (overt/covert, passive/active and micro/macro) that he hopes will allow this aspect of subcultures to be conceptualized more usefully, while also acknowledging that these are not the only dimensions that could be considered.
One of the areas where the author could have clarified his approach somewhat was in the lines that were drawn around what constituted subcultures. In chapter 1, Williams explicitly rejects considering communities such as the Amish as subcultures because they are not youthful enough, but the book offers no consideration of why subcultures need to be youthful. Given work that has been done recently demonstrating how subcultural membership is no longer confined to young people, as people who participated in subcultures age but do not abandon their subcultural identity, this need to have youth as a central characteristic of subcultures needed to be unpacked further.
This omission is particularly surprising given the thoughtful consideration that the author shows in questioning the lines that have been drawn around subcultures in other places. In particular, in chapter 9 on ‘Related Fields’, he examines the way that other groups that share many characteristics with subcultures, such as ‘fandoms’ and new social movements, have been separated out and treated differently from subcultures. Williams explores the way that theorists looking at these other fields have developed ideas that could also be of use in looking at subcultures and vice versa. More importantly, though, he offers a critique of the way these different categories are arrived at in the first place, arguing that the position of academics in relation to the object of study is often central to how they are theorized. Because of this, the lines that are drawn around different areas of study need to be subject to serious scrutiny.
The theoretical approaches that Williams has taken in defining and characterizing subcultures point to the term being useful in more ways than it has been in the past, and the analysis Williams has provided here gives plenty of scope for other scholars to extend subcultural theories into areas they have not been traditionally associated with. The book is also very accessible, and because of the in-depth overview it gives of the development of subcultural studies, and the wide range of research it draws on for examples, would work very well as an introductory text for someone wanting to develop their knowledge of this field. Williams’ argument that the concept of the subculture still has much value to offer sociology is ultimately convincing, and this book is an excellent addition to this area of research.