Conference Essay: Fanzines, Carrot Jeans and Skate Shoe: Media and Artifacts in the Focus of Youth Culture and Scene Research

Abstract

Objects of everyday life play a significant role for the formation of youth cultures. Material artifacts such as clothes, magazines or posters, are produced, used, and (re-)interpreted in scene specific ways. Therefore, they can be described as a corner stone of the formation and transformation of youth culture specific styles and self-representations. These phenomena were the focal point of the interdisciplinary conference: "Construction of Styles Within Scenes." It was organized by the research group "Techniques of Adolescent Bricolage" and held in March 2017 in Berlin, Germany. The conference contributions focused on a wide range of topics, such as media representations, esthetics, and the role of artifacts and objects within the practices of youth culture. They approached these topics from a variety of angles, including perspectives on social inequality as well as comparative historical and contemporary analyses. After a short introduction to the field of youth culture research, we describe the thematic core areas as well as the main results of the conference. Additionally, we provide an overview of present perspectives on youth culture and scene research.