ABSTRACT
Contemporary culture seems uniform. Palms of every hue exchange high fives, earrings hang on male lobes from Baltimore to Butte, and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Keanu Reeves stand in silent refutation of multiculturalism. In a world of white rap and karaoke Mikados, one needs constant reminders of what a difference might look like and how it might work. Even among those who study minority subcultures, there is today a debate about difference. What are differences, where do they come from, and how can they be overcome? Is it possible to describe cultural specificity without reproducing the stereotypes by which communities were labelled “minor” in the first place? Does the search for commonalities among peoples forge allegiances or merely pass off as “universal” values that are specific to particular powerful subgroups?
