Post-War British Popular Culture

This course examines different countercultures and subcultures in Britain from the 1950s to the present day. It introduces the rocker, the punk, the Goth, the New Romantic, the Raver and, Britain's newest counter identity, the Hipster. Although these identities are connected to music and fashion, the course content goes further and locates these identities as part of political movements and of political malaise. The course explores cultures which are based on ethnicity and sexuality such as the black community in Notting Hill during the 1950s, and the gay community of Soho in the 1980s as well as ideas concerning diversity and hate crime. The influence of these subcultures has been extensive, and Britishness would not be what it is today without these subcultures' continued fight for equality. To better understand these subcultures the course is complemented with field studies which help contextualize these subcultures both historically and politically.