ABSTRACT
This introduction chapter presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book argues, subcultures have never gone away, they may have changed form, and may need to adapt the conceptual tools or consider other practices, countries, or social groups, but fundamentally, similar processes of cultural expression have continued to exist. It book focuses on studying subcultures in the twenty-first century entails studying the cultures of various social groups, which are intertwined with one another and with global mass culture. The book addresses these questions in the context of two parts of cultural practice. The first part of the book analyzes a range of cultures that were not traditionally considered as the territory of the subcultures researcher. The second part of the book considers the contemporary practices that still fall within the scope of classical subcultural studies. These practices are products of what post-subcultural theory describes as a hybrid, global, and commercialized media landscape.
