subcultural theories of C+D
- Created by: rianna
- Created on: 09-05-13 17:14
View mindmap
- Subcultural theories of C+D
- Early subcultural studies influenced by functionalism
- A K Cohen delinquent boys
- Delinquency is collective not individual
- Argued cultural deprivation leads to educational failure amongst lower working class boys
- Lead to status frustration boys feel society gives them no status so look for respect in subcultural group
- However study only includes males so research is androcentric
- Cloward and Ohlin 1960 Delinquency and opportuntity
- Argued as well as the legitimate opportunity structure described by Merton there is an illegitimate opportunity structure
- Criminal subculture- an IOC is present and creates a subculture where there is a career hierarchy eg organised crime
- Conflict subculture- IOC is not available so youths form conflicting gangs out of frustration at lack of opportunity
- Retreatist subculture- youths who cannot find acceptance in either criminal or conflict subcultures,may involve drug use
- Crits- 3 subcultures not that distinct in real life. People in America have same norms of working hard and you will achieve
- Walter Miller 1962
- Argued that lower class subcultures contained norms and values which encouraged people to commit crime
- Argues mainstream values and norms are replaced with focal concerns, identifies 6: Toughness, Smartness, Excitement, Autonomy, Fate, Trouble
- Crits- Miller provides not enough evidence that these are lower class concerns could be middle class concerns to
- Crits- unlikely lower class men are aware of the norms and values
- David Matza 1961
- Argued rather than being committed to delinquency, young people drifted between conventional and unconventional behaviour
- argued everyone has deviant values but some carry out in the wrong place at the wrong time
- Argues they can use techniques of neutralisation as a way of avoiding feeling guilty
- Crits- People only apoligise when they are caught to justify actions to avoid being guilty
- Crits- Matza has a romantized view of crime, Jones argues Matza get his evidence form deviants
- Parker British study found focal concerns to a study of working class lads in Liverpool, found values of lower class subcultural values identified by Miller
- Nightingale-American study.
- Study of black youth in inner city of Philadelphia
- Subculture comes from desire to be part of the mainstream US culture
- They identify themselves with the wider culture by acquiring things with high status, eg clothes with logos, often obtained through violence and crime
- A K Cohen delinquent boys
- Marxist subcultural theory
- Capitalism maintains control over people through ideological dominance through media and economic pressure
- Only groups on the fringes of society are not locked in, by this ideology and finance, working class provide resistance
- Brake 1980
- Resistance to capitalism amongst working class youth takes a form of style dress or language use
- However brake points out that this does nothing to improve their position with capitalisn
- Crits- Cohen pointed out the writers were biased in their analysis and wanted to prove WCY were an attack on capitalism
- Crits- Over emphasis on working class not on other variation ie age and sexuality
- Postmodernist subcultural theory
- It is impossible to look for rational reasons why subcultures develop
- Katz 88- crime is seductive, young males get drawn in because its thrilling
- Lyng- young males take risks and engaging in edgework, going to the edge of acceptable behavior and flirting with danger
- Crits- value systems of society that create deviant subcultures people don't have enough choice to commit crime as what postmodernists think
- Early subcultural studies influenced by functionalism
- They identify themselves with the wider culture by acquiring things with high status, eg clothes with logos, often obtained through violence and crime
Comments
No comments have yet been made