8th midterm Conference of the European Research Network Sociology of the Arts

4 6 September 2014, Cluj Napoca, Romania

New borders of the

sociology of the arts
mapping and
discussion of the
approach tendencies
of the punk
Paula Abreu | FEUC, CES, KISMIF
Paula Guerra | IS-UP, CEGOT, GCCR, KISMIF
Tnia Moreira | IS-UP, KISMIF

Prolegomenons and punk scenes, a road to

Portuguese contemporaneity (1977-2012)
PTDC/CSSOC/118830/2010

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

The beginning

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

Punk emerged in England and US during

the second half of the 70s, coming out
globally in the following couple of
decades.

English cultural studies were the

first to attempt to know and study,
from a scientific point-of-view,
what then became designated as a
youth or urban subculture.

The last subculture

It matters, however, to recognize that punk is
still regarded with distrust by the social
sciences.

As sociologists, we are interested in understanding how and by

whom punk was studied, so as to move forward in their
interpretation as important sociological manifestation within
sociology of the arts.

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

technical
methodological
PROCEDURES

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

Objective: To contribute to an updated and deepen knowledge of the evolution of

the international scientific production regarding punk, shading a light into the
richness and actuality of this specific research domain and the importance of its
place in the sociology of arts.

What? Criteria for selection of

articles:
Scientific papers which discuss punk
(keyword).

Where? Databases of
international scientific
publications:
ISI, SCOPUS, Latindex and Dialnet.

When? Temporal range of the

collection:
January March 2013

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

How? Techniques and methods of analysis:

The information has been inserted, processed and cataloged, and was subsequently
analyzed using both social network analysis and the more conventional statistical analysis.

The results of the analysis conducted until now, allow

us identify and discuss a relevant set of major trends:
not only with respect to the main lines of research on punk
internationally (which themes are already mature and which
themes are emerging)
but also to the specific characteristics of the researchers
(analysis by nationality, gender, scientific expertise and
institutional membership), educational and research
institutions (including, international scientific networks) and
the subject areas which have been engaged in the study and
analysis of punk.

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

Results

Articles

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

1. Articles
80
70
60
50
40

Articles production by country (1987-2012)

The production of articles about punk has grown over

the years, as the number of countries interested in this
subject
However, the most articles still originates in the USA
and the UK

30
20
10
U. S. A.
0

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

1. Articles
From 290 articles analysed,
only 39 were prepared by
more than one author.

No Articles with:
300
250

This numbers indicate us there is a certain fragility with

respect to exchange ideas.

Certain", because if,

on the one hand, the teams of authors don't have people
from different origins or with different knowledge and
experience;

on the other, this fragility can be filled precisely because

there is (though not in interaction) a wide variety of origins,
knowledge and experiences in the production of articles.

200
150
100
50

0
1 autor
1 author

22
33
44
55
66
7
88
authors autores
authors autores
authors
authors autores
authors autores
authors
autores autores
authors autores

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

1. Articles
From the articles coauthored, only 9 were
prepared by authors
from different countries.
In a network where only
13 countries interact
each other, the U.S.
emerged as the country
that more and more
often interacts with
other countries.

Interaction between countries

Countries
that
interacted
to produce
articles.

Countries
with no
relation to
other
countries.

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

1. Artigos

Articles by training area of the author

Most of the articles are

produced in the context of
social sciences.
Sociology emerged as the
largest producer of articles.
However, it is the Psychology
which interact more with
other sciences.
In the last years, other
sciences also revealed an
interest in this subject
(punk): it's the case of
History, Literature and
Journalism, whose
production approximates to
the verified in Sociology.
Training Area
Articles

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

Results

Authors

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

2. Authors
From 316 authors founded, only 40 had developed more than one article.
But this doesnt mean that there is some kind of oligopoly in the production of articles in this
area. The average of articles by authors with more than one article is around 1,15 articles,
revealing instead an interest in this subject more spread over multiple individuals.

Articles by author

Article
Author

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

2. Authors
Only 14 articles was elaborated by authors of
both genders (male and female).

Articles by
gender of the
author

Gender
Articles

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

2. Authors
Men were who first published and who has produced more articles on this topic.
However, this interest is also evident among women: there was years that their
production was very close or even equal to the production verified among men.

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Articles by gender of the author (1987-2012)

Female
Feminino

Male
Masculino

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

Results

Themes

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

3. Themes
70
60
50
40
30
20

Men are who writes more on all subjects,

except in the gender issues

Articles by main theme (1987-2012)

Authors reveal a special interest on write about:

identity and construction of the self; fruition and
consumption of the people who likes punk music;
and about theories and concepts like
cultural/musical scenes; subcultures and field. The
narratives (speeches of the actors; lyrics; etc.) and
gender issues also occupy a prominent place,
especially in the last years

Gender
Narratives
Narrativas
Comunicao
Communication
Cenas
culturais/
Cultural/
Musical
musicais
Scenes
Culturas
juvenis
Youth
Cultures

Subculturas
Subcultures
Identidade
e construo
Identity
and
do self
construction
of the self

Fruition and
Fruio e consumos
Consumption

10
0
1987 1990 1991 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

3. Themes
Articles by main theme (1987-2012)

None author that

have more than one
article wrote just on
a specific theme

Author
Theme

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

3. Themes
Themes by countries

Only 4 themes are

connected to one country:
Punk USA; Underground;
DIY; and Festivals.
The themes connected to
more countries are:
Subcultures (13 countries);
Fruition and consumption
(11 countries); Identity and
construction of the self (9
countries).

Country
Themes

USA, UK, Canada and

Australia are the countries
interested in more themes.

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

Remarks
This exercise helped us to situate the theoretical and scientific evolution of punk.
Also allowed us to realize that this theoretical fragmentation has given rise to a
certain devaluation of this object.
Punk is not only an object of cultural studies. It should open up to a historical and
sociological approach.

It's because of this we propose its analysis in the intersection of different

perspectives: field theory (Bourdieu), art worlds (Becker) and music scenes (Straw,
Bennett), combining perspectives micro, meso and macro: structuralism and
interactionism; comprehensive and explanatory sociology.
Its interest for the sociology of the arts lies in the possibility of being a pioneering
sociological approach towards an object that crosses popular culture with mass
culture in a new and disconcerting way.

New borders of the sociology of the arts

mapping and discussion of the approach tendencies of the punk

Thank you
kismif.geral@gmail.com
http://www.punk.pt/pt/