The Need and Relevance of Subculture in the Lives of People - Research Paper Example

This paper is aimed at investigating the need and relevance of subculture in the lives of people. The paper aimsat assessing how much the people appreciate their subcultures and how this has remained relevant to people over the years. Dat collection will involve the use of both the primary and the secondary sources of data collection. It will involve asking the people questions and filling in questionnaires and interview sheets as a way of collecting data as a primary source of data. Secondary sources will involve the analysis and use of relevant literature in highlighting the evolution of the subcultures over the years and the relevance of this in the world of today. Research questions i) Is subculture still relevant in the society of today? ii) How does subculture existence in the society help in society building? iii) Is the subculture today the same as it was in the yester years? iv) Do people still identify with the subcultures? v) Why would the society still need subcultures? Research hypothesis HO: Subculture is still very relevant to the society of today and its role cannot be overlooked. HA: Subculture is not relevant to the society today and its role can be overlooked Literature review In each and every society there exists a subculture to which different people belong to. A subculture can be categorized as a group of individuals that share similar unique behavior and beliefs which make them unique. This groups allow for people to congregate and share very many things under the guidance of set principles and norms. Their beliefs and behaviours are guided by a certain code to which they tow and adhere to. Share of so much in common within a subculture only serves to foster peace and unity as well as love and understanding within the subculture members. Subcultures also give people a sense of identity and belonging as individuals from a certain subculture can identify themselves with subculture to which they belong. Subculture as earlier mentioned basically gives someone a sense of belonging and can range from the simplest of groups to the most complex of groups that exist. For instance the sex to which a person belongs to can be identified as a subculture as it gives the sense of identity and there are conditions, behaviors and practices to which the members of a sex adhere to. Although crucial to the existence of the people, it cannot be ignored that the existence of subcultures also comes along with its challenges which range from tribalism, ethnocentrism, stereotyping, narrow mindedness, hatred and a wide range of many other negative prejudice. Therefore in identifying with this groups and choosing what subculture to belong to or identify with, careful consideration needs to be taken so that the need to identify with a group does not bring about unfair judgement and discrimination amongst people that have existed so peacefully before. An individual can belong to several subcultures and it can allow them to identify with these cultures but it should also serve as an opportunity to foster messages of peace and unity amongst a given set of friends, community, society, nation, continent and even the entire world at large. I am a member of XXXX course at YYYY School. We are a total of 200 students currently attending this program which constitutes a subculture. This is because we share the same goal and adhere to several common rules which are supposed to guide our behaviours in pursuit of the same goal, which is to be excellent professionals in the field we have chosen to undertake. The set standards aply to all over us like for instance the course is supposed to take a 4 year period during which we are expected to have class sessions that is supposed to strictly be attended to. During the period we are also anticipated to be taking regularly at certain fixed intervals as well as assignment and term papers with an aim of assessing our understanding and progress during the entire period of the program undertaken. The program also has helped us the students of this course to connect and has given us a sense of identity despite the individual differences in term of background, tribe, language and ethnic standing. The adherence to a certain specific curriculum for the course by all the class members has also given the class a sense of identity and purpose which further serves to align the whole class towards the same direction of achieving the set goals and targets by the syllabus. Attending the same school and being taught by the same lecturers while at the same time attending to the same syllabus, assignment and lectures as well as exams gives the class a sense of fairness and equity which puts each and every member of the team at the same level. The inclusion of certain specific events that are only undertaken by the member of this department and course also uniquely isolates the member of this subculture from the other subcultures in this case identified as other departments or courses. This helps the members of the course to even feel more unique, isolated and specific to their set achievement demands and priorities. During such events the members of the class as well as their families and relations are able to foster peace and understanding amongst themselves thereby even strengthening the bond of the subculture. Work places also form other sub cultural groups with which people identify with. The code of conduct and rules set for a given work field are guided by the expectations set by the owner of the business as well as the institution charged with the responsibility of giving out licenses. Licenses in essence are just tools to ensure every business, industry or company meets standards that have been set by a given department, institution or government agency. Work environment has given many employees a sense of purpose, direction and belonging. Competition amongst employees or workmates is a health result of identifying with a certain specific culture although there may arise cases the competition may prove unhealthy on certain front especially if perceived in a wrong way by the members of the subculture involved in this. Therefore as members of our course strive to work hard and push towards the completion of our course work and subsequently hope that we will eventually graduate we still anticipate to even join a bigger subculture of members of our profession who are already practicing our there the dynamics of the course. Therefore what stands out is that subculture is an inevitable part of us that we cannot run away from and that each and every indulgence that we undertake will always put us in a certain subculture somewhere. Subcultures serve very many purposes in our lives which range from shaping our lives to aligning us towards our responsibilities and meeting the expectations set for us by the communities and members of society at large. Each and every member of the society has a feeling of accomplishing some things in life in order to fit in the society nd deem their lives as complete and successful. This is one of the ways through which people identify with a certain subculture; through meeting the expectations set out for them by the community which they belong to. Another subculture that I identity with and the people identify with is religion. The fact that I come from a strong Christian family and background has exposed me to so much of the Christian subculture. This subculture entails a lot but the unifying factor with religion is that we every religious person in life believes in the existence of God in whatever form which they perceive him to exist. Constant prayer and supplication serves as a way of communication with God amongst all the Christians. Church activities like singing, praying together, having church retreats and other such church events foster the good relations that exist between the church members and the society at large. The sharing of faith has helped built the community especially through forums that the church creates and uses to advocate for peace and togetherness amongst the members of the church. As an individual I really appreciate the role of subculture in my life and its positive impact in the activities in which I indulge in. the members of the society cannot ignore the same. Truth is as earlier highlighted each and every member of the society belongs to a certain subculture at every point in our life. It is also worth noting that many different subcultures may be very damaging if used in the wrong way as the resultant vices of hatred, ethnicity, tribalism and narrow mindedness in approach to issues as a result of identifying with a certain subculture proves to be detrimental to the growth and the development of the society and community at large. Culture and Subculture The concept of culture does not have one clear definition and is used in multiple ways, for example Marxist sociologists see it as an equivalent to ideology, while others see it as a "way of life". It is this last definition that this paper is concerned with. Those elements that make up a way of life are considered the characteristics of culture, these are many and vary in character. They comprise of "non-material culture" and "material culture". "Non-material culture" is the intangible side of culture, such as values, norms, attitudes, beliefs, language and many more. We learn these through a process called ‘socialization’; this occurs in both the private and public spheres of society and begins as soon as we are born. Even when we enter new situations in adulthood this learning process still continues. "Material culture" on the other hand includes the man-made parts of society, this diverse and almost endless list rages from kilts in Scotland to a picture of Mao Zedong in China, from a bodhran in Ireland to a Ganesh statue in India. The dominant culture of a society is that which is shared by the majority or most influential within society. To be considered a subculture a group must be discernible from the dominant culture in terms of some or all of the following: values, norms, artefacts, language, territorial spaces, activities etc. However, as suggested by the name, 'sub'-culture, there must also be some shared elements with the dominant culture. While retaining some characteristics of the dominant culture, subcultures differentiate themselves as a separate group. How distinctive they are varies from group to group. Some are barely distinguishable from the dominant culture. This is while the others are clearly identifiable, with a distinctly defined structure and characteristics. Furthermore, these former groups are referred to as 'youth subcultures' when they can also be identified by their age and generation. Subcultures in the past were studied and understood in regards to "their resistance to and incorporation within the dominant culture". It has been indicated from more current research that through studying the activities of a wide variety of groups and the significance of these activities to the participating individuals a better insight can be gained of contemporary subcultures. There is an extremely large diversity of subcultures, ranging from fans of certain television shows or sports teams, to youth subcultures rising from reactions to class struggles, from ethnic minorities, to subcultures based around music or travel (Clarke et al, 2005). Conclusion Any definition of subculture makes it clear that to fit into the category a group must simultaneously accept and reject different aspects of the dominant culture. When viewing people using sociological perspectives it is obvious that this is the case, there is undoubtedly not one single culture, but a dominant culture ‘tourists’ with a subculture ‘backpackers’. While there are shared elements in the activities, norms, values and artefacts of both tourists and backpackers, there are also obvious differences, especially in attitudes to and methods of travel. It is these very differences that help verify the argument that backpackers are a distinct subculture. Road status is an important issue for a lot of backpackers, especially ‘newcomers’, and it is through the swapping of this road status that socialisation occurs. Most, if not all, of backpackers’ values, norms and artefacts are connected with road status in some way. Backpackers come from a range of different countries, albeit mostly Western countries, and their norms and values do not all stem from their home countries. It is clear that some “social structures, norms and values” are established ‘on the road’ through their interactions. Those backpackers who put a lot of importance on road status are, in my experience, also those who are most insistent about the division and distinction between backpackers and tourists. References Clarke, J., Hall, S., Jefferson, T. and Roberts, B.(2005) ‘Subcultures, Cultures and Class’, in Gelder, K., (ed) The Subcultures Reader, 2nd ed., Oxford: Routledge. Read More