This thesis investigates the everyday experiences of subcultural participants. It takes as its focus the Dutch punk scene, tracing its emergences and development and mapping it historically and spatially. It explores the meanings attached to punk by its participants past and present. If further situates punk as part of participants’ wider lives, in particular in their mobility, connectivity, political engagements and life choices. This thesis speaks to several areas of enquiry. It most prominently contributes to subcultural debates, as well as the emerging field of ‘punk studies’. However the research presented here also has implications for discussions of globalisation, particularly in terms of cultural flow and the effect on local scene ‘boundaries’. It further contributes to conceptual developments of political activity in a world with ever more emphasis on individualised choice. This is an ethnographic project. The arguments presented in this thesis are the result of fieldwork undertaken between July 2010 and April 2011. Data include semi-structured interviews with thirty-three participants of the Dutch punk scene, both past and present. Interview data is further contextualised with a fieldwork diary based on participant observation. As a result of this research, this thesis argues for an approach to social research that recognises the ‘messiness’ and the ‘connectedness’ of the social world. In order to unpick how punk operates and what meanings it has for members, we must understand the wider social, cultural and economic context in which subcultures – and their participants – are embedded. The thesis concludes that in order to productively conceptualise punk we must recognised the artificiality of a number of boundaries. By widening the lens of what punk is, by realising its global context, and by broadening our definition of politics, we will better understand the everyday meaning of punk to its participants around the world.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:678716 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Lohman, Kirsty |
| Publisher | University of Warwick |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/75547/ |
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