73 exploration, and they know the various Star Trek heroes and villains and the lessons of their multigenerational adventures in great detail. Attending Star Trek fan conventions, dressing up as specifi c Star Trek characters, and collecting Star Trek memorabilia—even if some of your friends and coworkers think such behavior is a bit wacky—signals your subcultural connections to other Trekkers. Work and school organizations can develop their own cultural traits, too. Thus we might speak about the corporate culture at Walmart or the organizational culture at a governmental agency such as NASA. If your school has a signifi cant sports program, take a look around you at the next big game you attend. College athletics—complete with school colors, uniforms, mascots, cheers, and rituals—are part of the distinct cultures of many schools. Special moments in the school’s sports history—winning a championship, pulling off a huge upset, a star athlete’s choking in a key game—all become part of the lore of that school’s culture. At the micro level, even groups of close friends who live in the same neighborhood can develop a subculture. As they grow up, their common experiences foster similar values and beliefs. They may like the same style of clothing, music, and leisure activities. Over time their shared adventures give them a common history, fi lled with incidents, terminology, and characters that have little meaning for people outside the group. “Inside” jokes and references help build a sense of solidarity and belonging. A subculture that organizes itself in opposition to the dominant culture may be categorized as a counterculture, which champions values and lifestyles distinctly opposed to those of the dominant culture. Members of countercultures challenge widely held values and attitudes and reject mainstream cultural norms. In the past half century, a series of youth-based countercultures have challenged aspects of the dominant culture in U.S. society. For example, young hippies in the 1960s had a distinctive lifestyle and language. They challenged traditional authority by experimenting with recreational drugs, practicing communal living, rejecting materialism, espousing “free love,” and protesting against the Vietnam War. Punks in the 1970s developed their own particular style, including then-atypical piercings and provocative hairstyles, along with a defi ant attitude. In turn, hip-hop introduced new music, language, dance, and fashion while some within hip-hop culture advanced a powerful critique of racism and racial discrimination. Subcultures—including countercultures—often introduce innovation and change to mainstream culture. Features of a subculture that might appear radical or threatening may over time be incorporated into the dominant culture. For example, in U.S. society, tattoos were once found exclusively among various subcultures such as sailors and bikers but have long since moved into the mainstream. Access to birth control, racial intermarriage, equal rights for women, and a host of other social reforms began their life as part of the beliefs and values of political subcultures, only to achieve broad mainstream acceptance eventually. Alongside the dominant culture, societies include a number of smaller subcultures with their own distinct cultural traits. For example, Americans in general are enthusiastic about technological advancements, but the Amish—an orthodox Protestant sect living primarily in Pennsylvania and Ohio—reject the use of most modern technology, resulting in a distinct way of life. Skateboarders also form a subculture. They defi ne and use public spaces in innovative ways, turning roads and sidewalks, steps and hand railings, into a skating space, while developing a distinctive attitude about risk-taking and authority. Since subcultures often highlight their differences from the mainstream, their members often accept, even celebrate, their nonconformist beliefs or behaviors (Gelder 2005). Members of a subculture, then, share a common identity, whether they are extreme-sports enthusiasts, science fi ction fans, or Civil War reenactors. Although subcultures typically do not have a formal membership structure, they usually develop a specialized language or style and specifi c behaviors and objects relevant to their culture. Trekkers—a subculture consisting of fans of the television and movie franchise Star Trek—share a language about the fi ctional Starf leet and a science-fiction version of future space One way people express their connection to a subculture is by wearing distinctive clothing or costumes. Here, Trekkers— fans of the Star Trek television and movie franchise—are dressed as their favorite characters at a Comic Con convention that celebrates comics and related art forms. Cultural Diversity
Croteau_Experience_Sociology_ch03
To see the actual publication please follow the link above