ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with the emergence of the term 'counterculture' in the late 1960s, and its associations with the hippie movement. This is followed by a consideration of how more recent developments in sociological theory complicate and problematise the 1960s definition of counterculture, and also the way in which this definition has been redeployed in more recent decades in relation to other forms of cultural and socio-political phenomena. The purpose of the chapter is to critically revisit and re-evaluate the term 'counterculture' as a means of examining and explicating previous and ongoing instances of counter and anti-hegemonic ideology, practice and beliefs. This is followed by an investigation of how new social trends and associated developments notably in digital technology provide an impetus for new understandings of counterculture. The chapter also examines some current examples of movements and groups that have been referred as countercultures and consider new ways of positioning this concept.
