-"·for the most part bafflement seems to lead those interested in young people to define adolescence itself as a social problem." (Epstein: 1).

-3 distinct periods of youth scholarship: the Chicago school, the Birmingham school and most recent U.S. work of Giroux, Kellner and Weinstein. (Epstein: 3). READ SOMETHING BY EACH! HEREâS A GOOD OUTLINE FOR YR. LIT. REVIEW!

-Structural conceptions of alienation depend upon "a discrepancy between the resources of a society and the ability of certain groups to attain those resources." (Epstein: 5).

-"Mertonâs concepualization of anomie is central to the Brimingham schoolâs theorizing on youth subcultures." An individualâs status in society is dependent on that of his social group. (Epstein: 6).

• "Scales which purport to measure constucts such as powerlessness (NEAL AND GROAT, 1974), meaninglessness (IBID.) and sense of coherence (ANTONOVSKY, 1987) are all related in their focus on the alienation of the individual from social structure and others on a personal, as opposed to a collective, level." (Epstein: 6).

• Birmingham was the UK version of symbolic interactionism, starting with Beckerâs "Outsiders."! (Epstein: 7).

• Youth are frequently a target for the labelling process, but Birmingham had to turn to Marxism to account for class-based origins of British youth subculture. (Epstein: 7).

• The Birmingham school explains "youth resistance to hegemonic culture" through semiology. (Epstein: 8.

• Birmingham distinguishes between "hegemonic culture"- "created by those groups which posses the greatest power, weight and influence in a society, and whose powerful social position makes it possible to creates a dominant culture;" and common culture- "an expression of the everyday lives of the other social groups and classes," arising "in those cultureal places where hegemonic culture is unable to completely penetrate." (Epstein: 9).

• Parent cultures- the specific way each class expresses and realizes itself culturally. (Epstein: 9).

• Subculture- collective responses to group focal concerns "·distinctly at odds in both content and structure with both the hegemonic culture and the parent culture, and when these are taken up as a way of life." (Epstein: 10). IDEA: IF MCLUHAN IS RIGHT ABOUT THE MEDIUM BEING THE MESSAGE, IN THAT THE MEDIUM IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE CONTENT BECAUSE OF THE WAY IT CAN ALTER HOW THE CONTENT IS READ, WHAT ARE THE SUBCULTURAL MEDIUMS THAT ALTER THE CONTENT OF SUBCULTURAL MESSAGES? STYLE? MUSIC? ARGOT?

• Subcultural resistance is ritualized resistance, never really threatening the hegemonic order. (Epstein: 11). WHY? BECAUSE THE SUBCULTURAL MEDIUMS ö STYLE, MUSIC, ART, ARGOT ö ARE NOT IN THEMSELVES THREATENING, BUT ARE THEONLY MEDIUMS AVAILABLE TO YOUTH, ESP. WORKING-CLASS YOUTH!

• Subcultures operate on three levels: the level of values, the level of basic historical ideas and the level of material expression. (Epstein: 11).

• Homology ö "the study of the relationship between the cultural elements of a subculture and the fit between objects, the meanings granted to those objects and behaviour." (in Brake, 1985 ö READ THAT BRAKE!!!). (Epstein: 11).

• "homologies are used to describe the symbolic links between a subcultureâs values and its lifestyle." (Epstein: 12).

• Bricolage ö "the symbolic reordering of objects and their meanings," used to "establish a unique identity and subcultural style and to set the subculture apart from the parent culture." (Epstein: 13).

• "Each resistive activity is countered by the co-optation of that activity into the marketing of a particular music, as was the case with grunge." (Epstein: 17).

• "Rock music is a central feature of youth subcultures and subcultural belonging is expressed to a large degree through musical preferences." (Epstein: 17). WHY? HOW ÎBOUT THIS: SOCIETY HAS MOVED FROM A LITERARY SOCIETY, WHERE THE PAGE WAS THE DOMINANT MEDIUM AND THEREFORE YOUTH SUBCULTURES IDENTIFIED W/ LITERARY TRADITIONS (THE LOST GENERATION, THE BEATS). NOW, ITâS A ELECTRONIC AGE AND SOCIETY AND SUBCULTURES IDENTIFY WITH ELECTRONIC MEDIUM ö PRERECORDED MUSIC, RADIO, MUSIC VIDEO. SEE MCLUHAN, FR. CDN. MASS. COMM. READER!!!

• Takes a very weak look at Generation X ö nary a mention of Coupland or Slackers! Just Nirvana! TOO MUCH FOCUS ON MUSIC AND NOT OTHER MEDIUMS!!! (Epstein: 18-21).

- "Prohibited from speaking as moral and political agents, youth become an empty category inhabited by the desires, fantasies and interests of the adult world." Y SHARP RESORT TO VIOLENCE! "This is not to suggest that youth donât speak; they are simply restricted from speaking in those spheres where public conversation shapes social policy and refused the power to make knowledge consequential with respect to their own individual and collective needs." (Giroux: 24).

• "·for the riches and most powerful groups in American society, youth represent one of the lowest priorities. (Giroux: 27). SHARP, VIOLENCE, Y? DISENFRANCHISEMENT!

• "·youth are viewed as a growing threat to the public order." As portrayed in media as "criminal, sexually decadent, drug-crazed and illiterate." E.G. KIDS! (Giroux: 28).

• "Traditionally, the body for youth has been one of the principal terrains for multiple forms of resistance and a register of risk, pleasure and sex." (Giroux: 28). Y? ITâS ONE OF THE FEW TERRAINS THAT HAVE CONTROL OVER! "It has been through the body that youth displayed their own identities through oppositional subcultural styles, transgressive sexuality and disruptive desires. The multiple representations and displays of the body in this context were generally central to developing a sense of agency, self-definition and well-placed refusals." (Giroux: 28).

• "Redefining teen cultures as both separate and in opposition to adult society, youth became the embodiment of alienation, anger and potential danger." (Giroux: 29).

• Giroux blames "a crisis of representation regarding youth" in the 1990âs on "a downward spiraling economy, a resurgent racism, a diminishing allocation of funds for crucial public services, the creation of Tippi (sic) Goreâs Parentâs (sic) Music Resource Center, the hostile public response from many adults to rap and urban contemporary music as it entered the mainstream." (Giroux: 30).

• "Youth were no longer seen as a wider social dilemma, they were the problem." (Giroux: 31). BUT THAT HAD BEEN GOING ON FOR YEARS, NOT JUST STARTING IN THE Î90âS! MORAL PANICS AROUND MOD-ROCKER RIOTS?

• "American youth are unable to vote, are denied basic civil liberties, and face a world of increasing poverty and unemployment, and diminished social opportunities. They have few opportunities to make their voices heard as they witness a growing culture of violence, with its assault on public life, deteriorating cities and a seeming indifference towards civil rights." (Giroux: 34).