amstyouthculture - Tumblr blog

[amstyouthculture]

What do you think, @destinymjohnson-purdue?? 

[amstyouthculture]

undefined

Ariana Grande, ending white cis-het misogynists one at a time

[amstyouthculture]

After our discussion on the meanings and transnational routes of toys, I HAD to post this.  These are Yoga Joes, made by Dan Abramson, who states:  “I made Yoga Joes because I thought that it would be a fun way to get more people into yoga – especially dudes…” the creator says on his website. “Beyond that, I wanted to make a violent toy become peaceful.”  What do you think #amst201youth?  What’s the impact on US youth?

[amstyouthculture]

My own mind map for AMST 201: Conformity and Rebellion in Youth Culture.  On my blog I write: 

In thinking about how to visualize the theme of youth culture I couldn't get away from the course's initial organization around two oppositional yet overlapping poles: conformity and rebellion.  This course really interested me over time because it revealed how the central themes of youth culture revolved around how teenagers exist in a liminal state - youths are celebrated as beautiful, idealistic, pure, adventurous, and youthful, while they are also denigrated as naive, self-absorbed, dangerous, vulnerable, and juvenile.  Youth culture holds so much power and yet youths are given very little citizenship except for the right to (and expectation to) consume.

Conformity and rebellion are shaped by social and cultural norms, individual wants and experiences, family dynamics (and I would add, historical context), shape behaviors and identities of American youths.  These two tensions between conformity and rebellion shape the essential relationship between identity (who am I and what does that mean?) and citizenship (what power do I have and how are my rights valued in society?).  Nearly every example we encountered in the readings or films demonstrated how youths in ways that both conformed and rebelled.  Miss Representation demonstrated many girls conformed to cultural norms of female sexualization and infantalization by sexualizing themselves.  To engage in this self-sexualization is an act of conforming to norms of women's sexualization in such a way that presents this self-sexualization as an act of rebellion.  Likewise, in the chapter "Dummy Smart" from Victor Rios's book Punished, Rios argues that young black and Latino boys engage in practices of creating organic capital in an attempt to define their own identity in positive ways that both conforms and rebels - such as wearing expensive tennis shoes to a job interview.  These attempts, however, are frequently misrecognized as being lazy or disrespectful that, in turn, further reinforce negative stereotypes about youths of color.

[amstyouthculture]

I love your use of the word “misunderstood” as a way to describe how youths are perceived by adults.  I agree, and it makes me think of Rios’s use of the word “misrecognition” to describe how black and latino boys’ actions to create organic capital were criticized.  It seems like we live in a world in which youths are told that they are everything adults wished they could be (young, beautiful, pure, idealistic, with no adult obligations), and yet are also criticized for being everything that an adult is not.  To be a youth is to live a double identity of being both symbolically powerful and completely disenfranchised, and that works even more so for youths who are of color, impoverished, non-hetero, non-citizens, differently abled, etc.  Thought provoking essay, clfrench05

Youth-culture

The world around us is deeply affected by the youth. When talking and learning about youth culture, we have to acknowledge the history they have in our country and other many countries. Teenagers were not something that existed, the youth culture as ignored and treated as adults or either children. There was no in between, when the world needed them they became relevant. Youth culture has never been understood and I don’t believe it ever will be. We see in history all of these different minorities, groups, cultures and etc. have been stigmatized by society and misunderstood. Youth culture is something that was never accepted, so they went to extreme measures to be accepted. We see this with African American’s and Latino’s involvement in gang-life, the Zoot suitors, African American girl’s with double-dutch, Cuban kids resulting to punk rock and so on. With them not being accepted by society, they find acceptance elsewhere and are named as deviant and criminals. Youth culture is all about reaching out, testing the limits and finding themselves. With that being said, people don’t know how to handle or react to these situations. So then parents, elders and officials start talking crisis. Gang activity can be seen as a crisis, but double-dutching, punk rock music and being gay cannot. My mind-map shows the connections from youth culture being misunderstood to it becoming a crisis’s, with then leads to them acting out even more. Unfortunately youth culture is misunderstood, it will always be. Until we are able to accept them into societies as who they want to be, they are going to find acceptance elsewhere.  

Mind map Link-

https://bubbl.us/?h=2b9fe8/57f7b9/28ODVCrstHLq2&r=22324260

[amstyouthculture]

Haha, organized chaos is a good description, emilyespich!  I particularly like your use of question on the left side of your mindmap, because this course has left me with more questions than answers.  What is a youth?  Why do they continue to have the same problems when so much as changed over the past 100 years and across the world?  Do youths seem themselves as powerful as they are and why not?  Lots of questions provoked by your essay.  Good work!

Looking at my finished mind map I can’t help but recognize a theme that describes American Youth Culture: organized chaos.  While I was reviewing the course objectives and reflecting on the course material it was extremely obvious how everything in a youth’s life is intertwined and helps shape who they are and who they will become.  Youth culture consists of many sub categories including, but not limited to, sexuality, rebellion, crisis, conformity, consumerism, hangouts, and behavior.  All of these sub categories play an independent and integrated role in forming youth culture.  The youth culture today consists of many stigmas against sexuality, from past and present.  The homoromances from the time of war might have impacted the way people viewed simple friendship between men from then on out.  Sexuality today is also used as a form of rebellion.  Rebellion is a major thing for some youths.  They can rebel in many ways, one common way is their sexual orientation or participation in sexual behaviors.  These practices can sometimes lead to crises, such as teen pregnancy.  Other crises youths experience include fitting in and childhood obesity.  These particular crises lead to the need for teens to feel they need to conform to society’s standards to fit in.  This leads to a culture that revolves around conformity and consumerism.  The need to buy the clothes that are ‘in’ and hangout at the hip places is impossible for most kids to ignore.  The places where kids hang out then influence the activities they partake in.  The places they migrate to is also usually influenced by their social and economic backgrounds.  Their socioeconomic backgrounds then also influences their behavior and cultural norms.  This in turn is the very way kids are raised and the single most important factor in their own culture.  All of these subcategories connect in many ways, but can also stand alone in influencing youth.  That is why the way I would describe the American youth culture would be organized chaos.  

[amstyouthculture]

I agree, arielc88, that even acknowledging that there are social issues is the first step to empathy.  In our seemingly postracial society, Americans are discouraged from acknowledging how race, ability, ethnicity, and gender impact one’s citizenship in positive or negative ways.  On my way to reading the rest of your work on empathy!

Mind Map Reflection

                The presented mind map may seem simple, but at a closer glance it exhibits a certain level of complexity due to the connectedness of all the themes. Throughout the course, it became clear that all the presented themes are connected, and although certain articles were assigned for specific topics or themes, I found myself discussing other themes that seemed to be present in the readings.

                The main theme that seemed to be integrated into nearly all the readings was gender which oftentimes went hand in hand with sexuality. As can be seen on the mind map, gender and sexuality is also connected with power. It was seen often in the readings and in the film “Miss Representation” that males or the females that were able to exhibit certain characteristics associated with the male gender, tended to have more power in all situations. In other articles it was clear that adolescents’ sexuality was being attempted to be kept under control by the adults. This naturally resulted in either an adolescent conforming to the adult’s viewpoints of sexuality or rebelling against their views of sexuality. The concept of rebelling or conforming is based on the set of norms previously put forth by mainstream society.

 Of course, gender and sexuality are tied in closely to identity because part a person’s identity and how he or she is perceived by others is based largely on that person’s gender. However, sexuality is not the only aspect that composes a person’s identity. Other aspects and themes discussed in the readings that related to identity were race and ethnicity. Like gender, the aspect of race/ethnicity as forming part of someone’s identity is a “visible” way of identifying someone. This concept is also subject to connections via power and expectations of conformity. As discussed in numerous articles, a person’s race/ethnicity are often a source of power imbalance. As is seen not only in the articles but in everyday life, if you are a part of the mainstream society you tend to have more power in general while being a member of a minority group automatically grants you less power. From this imbalance of power stems the concepts of conformity and rebellion. There are those who though they do not necessarily agree with the imbalance of power, go along with or conform. Then there are those who rebel against the power imbalance in whatever way they can.

                Power is also linked to socioeconomic status. Though we have seen links between SES and race/ethnicity, this is not the only connection. The link between SES and power is much stronger because regardless of race/ethnicity or gender, if a group of people all share the same SES it creates a sort of equal footing among them. Of course there are still inequalities, but they are lessened due to society’s emphasis on SES and the power that is granted to those of higher SES coupled with the lower amount of power granted to those of low SES. Once again, we see a power imbalance affecting people’s reactions to their status as set by society. There are those who conform to their lower SES amount of power and then there are those who rebel against their lessened amount of power in the hopes of gaining more footing in society.

                Through this discussion one other theme connected to rebellion and conformity keeps popping up. It seems that those who are disadvantaged by a power imbalance are the ones who generally rebel instead of conforming to society’s views of what they should be. It makes sense that those who are advantaged by the power imbalance would continue to conform because they often have very little to gain from rebelling against their privileged position.

                Through the exploration and deconstruction of all these themes, it makes my case for the necessity of empathy development even stronger. Oftentimes, society looks at those who are rebelling and they judge or condemn them without first understanding the reason behind the rebellion. This concept does not just apply to youth versus adults, but to youth versus youth. Through the condemnation of the rebel youth there often sprouts bullying of all kinds from physical to social exclusion to cyberbullying. If young people could understand each other better or least develop a sense of empathy, it would help lessen the amount of bullying that occurs in schools.

                I feel like a lot of teachers try and stay away from controversial topics like we covered in the class this summer. Topics such as race/ethnicity, rebellion, and especially sexuality are often considered taboo topics for the school classroom. This is partially where the lack of empathy stems from. If students are not exposed to it nor allowed to discuss it in a safe environment, how can they possibly reach any kind of true understanding of the concepts? There are numerous pieces of literature that address these topics and which would allow students a peak into worlds different than their own, but also perhaps similar to their own. Through reading, journaling, reflecting and discussing these numerous topics, students will gain a broader view of the world and of society. Through the formation of this broader view will come not only understanding but a development of empathy that the students will then be able to apply to their lives.

                I suppose this view could be seen as slightly rebellious in comparison to many of the traditional views of teaching and the classroom. I whole heartedly embrace this view and believe that without a little rebellion, the world will never be able to grow or change for the better.

[amstyouthculture]

I completely agree, tmeadow30, that regardless of changes in historical context, youths “still want the same things...Young adults just want to find how they can exist and thrive in society while also allowing their individuality to be seen.”  I would argue that it is because youths are not treated as full citizens (legally, socially, culturally, physiologically, etc.).  Why do you think that this quest for belonging is a constant attribute of youths regardless of the time period?

Final Reflection and Mindmap

When I was constructing my mindmap, I wanted to briefly outline the topics in the course that stuck with me.  I also wanted to include images along with each concept to provide an example of what I think of when I hear or read that concept.  I found this course to be very interesting because I believe that understanding our youth and their tendencies is the key to improving our country.  I believe that this course was interesting in the way that it not only focused on current youth culture, but it also focused on the changes in youth culture of our past.  I think this course is important because it can also allow us to understand how youth culture can shift in the event of crisis or war.  I will personally use the knowledge gained in this course as a parent.  For example, I will ensure that I raise my daughter with the belief that she can accomplish whatever she desires regardless of social norms.  I will teach my son that there is nothing wrong with showing emotion.   Though this course in not directly related to my major, I will find useful ways to apply the valuable information I have taken from this course in my day to day life.  Another valuable piece of information I have learned from this course is that time changes many things, but it has not changed the desire of children and youth.  They still want the same things they wanted in history.  Young adults just want to find how they can exist and thrive in society while also allowing their individuality to be seen.

[amstyouthculture]

Wow, what a thorough synthesis of course material, boilermakerspecial.  You and a couple of other students reinforced this idea that youth culture is consumed with self-definition as a pathway into “belonging” which seems really interesting to me because the quest for belonging is at the root of people who feel that they don’t belong and need to prove it (to themselves or others).  Narratives we hear about the quest for belonging include immigrants, transgender - in essence, people that so noticeably stand out by their age, race, or sexuality/gender for not conforming to a standard of white middle-class hetero citizenship that they seek to produce their own organic capital in conformist or rebellious ways.  It makes me wonder if we had a different education system in which kids didn’t see the same kids every day for two decades and feel that they need to compete with them, if kids would still feel compelled to prove themselves.  Not sure, what do you think arielc88?

Final Reflection Paper and Mind Map

This mind map outlines the themes covered in this course as they relate to youth culture and identity. For instance, in our study of sexuality and gender roles, we learned that boys and girls are socialized toward specific gender norms by the toys that play with. For example, girls are socialized to focus on physical beauty when playing with Barbie dolls, and on domestic pursuits such as baking for her family in her Easy Bake Oven or caring for her baby doll, while boys are taught to be rough, tough and brave like GI Joe and to pursue careers such as engineering, as encouraged by Legos and Erector sets whose ads clearly target boys. We also learned that girls have historically been taught by parents and by the media to be passive in relationships and to be nurturing and supportive and that they should not be sexually aggressive. 

Regarding the history of youth rebellion in America, we discovered that youth who often feel oppressed by adults and powerless to change things, particularly ethnic or racial minorities, will rebel and protest through their style of dress or music. This form of rebellion allows them to break free from norms and expectations and to express themselves and gain control and power over their lives. This practice of wearing clothing and hair styles that drastically differ from their parents, and listening to different styles of music still occurs today and serves as a way for youth to construct their own unique identity. 

Our study of youth crisis focused on some of the ways that social scientists and authors of parenting books instill fear into parents and society as a whole in order to solicit their support in putting a stop to youth “crises”. For example, we learned that in the 1990’s scientists pushed the idea that teen behavior was neurologically driven and that being a teenager is a form of mental illness requiring treatment, to include mind-altering drugs. Other topics related to current teen crises in America are suicide, drug use, crime and obesity. With regard to conformity and consumerism, we learned that there are some very deeply felt beliefs and norms that are interwoven into what it means to be an American, and that we largely expect everyone to conform to. We use various forms of media, and consumer products to help instill these values. Most notably, through children’s movies that are loaded with gender norms and expectations, racial and ethnic stereotypes and plots that emphasize the importance of capitalism, patriotism, religion and traditional American values.  

In our readings and discussions related to youths and place, we learned the importance of belonging, especially among youth, and that many of our laws and policies create or encourage economic, racial and ethnic inequality which drives many oppressed groups to form subgroups such as youth gangs in order to belong and to gain some power. We also learned that the place and cultural environment in which children are raised plays a much greater role in forming lifelong cultural bonds and norms than a person’s ethnicity or country of origin.  

We further found that youth behavior can be manipulated and driven by the expectations and assumptions that are placed on youth by their parents, teachers or other authority figures. For example, disenfranchised youth will often behave in accordance with their stereotypes or labels, placed on them by society, often based on race, gender or ethnicity, as a form of protest and to highlight societal and organizational deficiencies. The film Miss Representation also taught us that youth are heavily influenced by the media and that girls and women in particular, who rarely see female role models in politics or in positions of power, and who are regularly portrayed as the “weaker” sex, will internalize those stereotypes, which will, in-turn, limit their opportunities.

As we can see by this mind map, youth culture and especially identity is influenced by a myriad of societal pressures, coming from every angle. This often results in a push back by teens and young adults, that is often interpreted as rebellion, but that is, in reality, a desire to heard and respected and allowed the freedom to choose their own beliefs and to express themselves as an individual who has something unique to contribute, rather than simply becoming a clone of their parents or some ideal of what an “American” is supposed to be.   The material covered in this course has been very enlightening and will be particularly valuable to me as I pursue a career in law and social work, and will also be helpful on a personal level in raising children. Understanding what drives youth behavior, and some of the underlying causes, will help me to do a better job of working on the cause, rather than reacting to the behavior alone. Being more knowledgeable about the impact of the media in forming cultural norms and promoting racial, ethnic, and gender stereotypes, will also assist me in making better decisions regarding exposure and in discussing important topics rather than allowing the media, school and peers to be their only sources of information.                                              

[amstyouthculture]

What a poignant description of how and when the quest for identity shapes youth behavior and norms, itsmelielli.  Great work!

Mind Map

I feel that every concept we have covered in this course built off one another (as it was presented in the course), but each concept also was also intertwined with every other concept to reveal how youth navigate figuring out their unique identities.

We first heard about the concept of identity in the film “Teenage”; from this film we learned that adolescence is a socially constructed concept where teens are faced with finding where they belong in society. They do so in a time when they no longer feel like children but also are not quite adults.

This film touched on most of the topics we covered in class and was a good representation of how they’re all connected. Starting with sexuality we studied various aspects of this topic such as how heteronormaty has been constructed over time. This concept fed into the other concepts we studied such as rebellion, crisis, conformity and consumerism, and youths in place. Sexuality not only fit into every other concept, but each concept was related to each other.

For example, rebellion in “The Power of the Zoot” was explored through the zoot suit style made popular by non white minorities in America to form their own identity a new unique style. This aspect of rebellion also had strong ties to race, nationality and sexuality as it widely represented minority youth and these youth also used zoot style to explore their sexuality. As the youth were rebelling they were also forming their own place, much like Los Frikis from Cuba or black girls who created Double Dutch, they were also taking part in being consumers and they were ultimately finding their place, and all of this happened while they were finding their identity. 

Examples like that one from this course could go on and on, but the main thing I learned from this course is that all the concepts were related to one another in conjunction with identity formation, which in my mind is the defining aspect of youth culture. 

Looking at the big picture as well as how details interact with each other to create this pictures another concept I have taken away from this course. I feel that the idea of many concepts building off each other and also intertwining in a variety of ways happens in all aspects of life which is important to keep in mind. 

[amstyouthculture]

“Youth rebellion and crisis are end products of societal pressure.”  I completely agree, miguelyouthculture, and love how you discuss the fluidity between course topics.  I particularly like how you included your own topic - social issues - because it’s such a huge part of situating youth culture within a global structure.  Good work!

Throughout this course, we explored the various factors that influence youth culture. The most prominent concept that I got out of this course is the fact that there is so much societal pressure on teens to look and behave in certain ways, and to take on roles and social constructs presented to them by adults. These social constructs are created through ideas of morality, preexisting gender roles, the media, standards of beauty, racism, homophobia, etc.This pressure creates rebellion. When teens are hindered from expressing themselves, they are more likely to rebel and lash out in ways that give them this freedom. Teens want a say in their lives and how they live it. Rebellion can be in the form of counter cultures. In some cases, it can be expressed in unhealthy ways. This is where crisis comes in. Drugs, suicide, crime, and sexually deviant behavior are indirect products of societal pressure.

All in all, I really enjoyed this course. It really gave me awareness on how powerful the impact of society is on youth. Before this class, I never thought of the effects of media on teens, or even the gender issues explored in Miss Representation. It was cool to look at the parallels between youth culture in different time periods. Although trends, incentives, and the way society imposes constructs on kids has changed, the basic idea has stayed the same. Youth rebellion and crisis are end products of societal pressure. Teenage years are a time for self-expression and self-discovery.

[amstyouthculture]

I completely agree, humongoustriumphhologram, it is hard to make sense of such a complicated and broad topic like youth culture, and I also see it as much more of a blend of ideas than clear distinctions.  Good work!

Mind Map and Final Reflection

Throughout this course, we have discussed many topics regarding youth. From sexuality to consumerism, we looked at examples of past youth culture and compared them to today’s youth. For my mind map, I took the main topics from the course, and then bulleted what I thought of, or what the main points were from that section. I found that a lot of times the sections overlapped in certain areas. For example when thinking about the behavior of youth culture, I thought about how youths are generally immature and often act out in rebellious ways. This also overlaps the rebellion section. Behavior also overlaps with crisis, in the fact that youths often act out in a way that involves tattoos and piercings. For my mind map, I started with the course subject in the middle and then used green lines to connect all the different sections to the main subject. The purple lines that go from section to section show how the different sections relate to one another. Within each subject is a bullet list of the main/important topics, in my opinion. For most of the bullet points, there is a visual to go with it. This was more difficult than I thought it would be, simply because for most of the points, several visuals came to mind. For the tattoos and piercings in the crisis section, I could have put multiple visuals for each. Some of the others were more difficult to find visuals for, like rebellion and independence. I think for me personally, I don’t visualize the course as so many different sections, but as multiple overlapping topics. I tried to show this with my mind map by the different arrows. I think it is hard to break down youth culture into so many different topics when it’s very easy to take on youth culture as a whole. That being said, I think our professor did an excellent job of breaking the material down into appropriate topics that were easy to understand and follow.

[amstyouthculture]

Great mindmap awesomeelegantdetectivebouquet!  I love the connections your making between course topics.  I would love for you to explain to me why you included “Friend circle” over on the right as an outgrowth of Behavior and Cultural Norms.  I didn’t even think to use this important term throughout the course, but wanted to know how you saw it fitting in the the course material.  Good work!

Final Reflection Paper and Mind Map

This course American Studies 201 Youth Culture gave me a better insight than I had before of youth culture in general and also its relation to the current youth culture. Along the path of this course, it covered most of the aspects and components of the youth culture. I have related these components to each other in my mind-map. Now, I will go over each component. The first week of the course introduced me with a basic idea of youth culture through Teenage film and the importance of toys in the youth culture. The movie highlights an important concept that teenagers didn’t always exist whereas they were war time invention. Secondly, the component of sexuality was introduced through two articles, Delinquent Daughters and We Boys Together: Teenagers in Love Before Girl-Craziness. Delinquent Daughters is about national campaign which mainly was to raise the age of consent for women from ten to eighteen years in the United States in the years 1850-1920. In addition, it also highlighted some other issues such as adequate punishment of crimes against women and girls, female sexuality, moral downfall of young women, sexual exploitation and prostitution of young women. This is where I first understood the problems females had to and still have to face. We Boys Together: Teenagers in Love Before Girl-Craziness is based on the change in attitude of the society from homoromance to heteroromance. Next, it was all about rebellion. This rebellion was about youths creating their own identities which was also inferred in the Teenage film, was about fighting for gender inequalities and how celebrities inspire fashion in youth. Later, this course introduced me to the next aspect of youth culture, crisis. Crisis included its current indications such as selfie obsessions, teen suicide, cyber-bullying, child-obesity etc and also introduced me with the concept of neuroparenting. After crisis, it was the time to understand about conformity and consumerism in youth culture. This focused mainly on Disney films and products which are the very popular attractions in the current youth culture. I was really surprised to get to know how the youngsters become consumers from an early age. Consumerism was in terms of toys, gifts or the clothes/products needed to stay updated with the current fashion. Next, I learnt how youth and place are connected with each other and how it affects the life of a youth. This component also highlighted the racial inequalities and the limited opportunities some races get than other races. This connect with the rebellion component as rebellion for fighting for racial equality. Last but not the least, the behaviors and norms aspect of youth culture. This is my favorite component because I really liked the Miss Representation documentary. This component mentioned the historical stereotypes about gender in the society and again the female sexuality relating it to the sexuality component. In this weeks’ writing, I had highlighted how the friend circle affects the youths behaviors and actions which I related to my Disney movie analysis.

I think now I have a better understanding of youth culture than I had before. I really liked this course and I hope to implement this knowledge in my further life. Thanks! 

[amstyouthculture]

Awesome essay and mindmap, destinymjohnson-purdue!  Very cool connections and organization.  Love it.

For my mind map, I decided to try and convey the way in which youth culture is seen through the eyes of the youth.  WE ARE YOUNG, is infused with photos of young people expressing themselves in the various ways that they do. In this segment, I also tried to express what being youthful means both individually and socially. In WE ARE LEARNING, my goal was to indicate the many ways in which we as young people are receiving the world. There are many things that we are taught both institutionally, socially, and recreational at a very early age. This was something that we addressed when covering consumerism, toy culture, and sexuality. WE ARE GROWING represents the things that youths develop as a result of the environment they are placed in. Like the LA/Salvador, and Dummy Smart articles, youths grow, usually against the grain, and begin to develop their own identities based on the geographic and social location they are in. Usually, they develop a culture and a lifestyle that they can fit themselves in after being rejected by ‘normal’ society. WE ARE CHAGNING meant to represent the different paths that demographically diverse youths take. Some allow themselves to fall into the socially constructed system, while other don’t. Like the podcast on Hispanic youth and the documentary Teenage, new communities, identities, cultures, and social norms can arise when enough regulative pressure is applied to youth populations. The following section is like an acceptance of the inevitable, because as we have seen the trend of adult oppression and power over American youths has continued, which means that in the end, the rebellious youths found their way into their social bins picked out for them and grew up to continue the cycle. Perpetuating the disconnect between rebellious youth and their adult predecessors. Nevertheless, in the throes of youth and adventure, there will always be a degree of freedom that we only experience when we are young.

[amstyouthculture]

Hi linzysarahhh, when you think about youth culture, do you see other topics not discussed in class, or see these topics connected in different ways or in a different order of hierarchy?

Throughout this course, we focused on many aspects of youth culture.  This course started out with a basic section on youth culture, it talked about the differences in youth culture and how it is perceived by members of the community all over the world.  We then moved on to sexuality, rebellion, and crisis.  This section explained the different sexualities and issues that come along with youths attempting to express their own true selves.  It talked about the ways that society reacts to those who are different and how they are widely unaccepted.  Moving on to rebellion, rebellion is a hot topic in the category of youths since it seems to be the category in which most rebellion occurs.  Crisis was all abut the different issues among the youth all over the world and how they are categorized by others.  Some things can be considered crises to some, while they are minor issues to others.  Conformity and consumerism was all about how youths attempt to blend in with the world in order to avoid criticism or scrutiny.  Consumerism was my favorite topic that we discussed since it was all about how youths are trained subconsciously or unconsciously throughout their lives to become consumers for specific products.  Youths and place simply described how youths act differently based on their location and upbringing in the world.  Lastly, behavior and cultural norms.  Behavior and cultural norms was all about the way that youths behave in direct reaction to the societal expectations that are placed on them in order to avoid being labeled as deviant.

[amstyouthculture]

This is such a cool analysis, coolfriedbouquetanchor!!  I love it.  What I think is so interesting is how many of the same issues or topics are represented in each generation, but that the current context emphasizes other attributes of youth culture.  Very cool!

Final Response

My Mind Map is a review of everything we learned in this class, broken down by the three past generations and including popular movements and theories. The first generation I discussed is Generation X. The popular characteristics I learned from the several articles we examined in class, were that they were ethnically diverse, educated, and their generation worked to live, and they didn’t live to work. This generation was the first to not have to live through the segregation and the Civil Rights Movement.

The next generation, Generation Y, better known as the millenials, was the from the years 1980-2000. This generation main characteristics were family oriented, ambitious and desire to make a difference. This generation is the generation that are into tech, like the software developed today, is the result of this generation, their ambition and desire to make a difference. This was also the generation that experienced the zoot culture. This culture was a good topic in this class, because it showed how different cultures were adopted by teens in order to make themselves more comfortable.

The final generation discussed is the current generation, Generation Y, they are more technology oriented and entrepreneurship. Today’s youth are the ones we see with all the new iphones, ipads and all the social media account, such as Instagram, YouTube, and SnapChat. We don’t know everything about this generation, but it’s gonna be something exciting for us to experience.

#amst201youth #amst201project

[amstyouthculture]

Hi @darrenamst201, How do you see some of the smaller topics connected with others in other columns? 

Also, do you see any other themes when you think of youth culture that weren’t included in the course?

Mindmap?

I’ve actually never done this before so I’m not quite sure how this mindmap thing actually works.  Anyhow I think the course divides and organizes the topic very well already and so I don’t see any reason go to and change that.  In addition to the topics covered in class, I added a branch for movies that I watched for this course since I felt that it was worthwhile to include.  All topic branches are further divided by some keywords that I thought up off the top of my head that relates to the topics.  In essence, when I visualize this class I divide it into the sections that we went over in class (it’s how I study for tests and stuff and at this point it’s more out of habit than anything).  Usually I’ll subdivide them even more based on stuff that I would need to know for tests, but in this case all I put the words that in my mind, are relevant to the topic.