The biographical approach in (post-) subcultural studies: Exploring punk in China

Abstract

While the biographical approach is widely employed in applied and theoretical social research, it is less fully developed in the specific field of (post-) subcultural studies. The article demonstrates the utility of the biographical method for (post) subcultural studies by presenting research on the punk phenomenon in an authoritarian social context within China. The discussion draws upon a qualitative study based on interviews with 34 Chinese punk musicians. Although the article focuses on one of these musicians in particular, the arguments are informed by broader research findings. Specifically, emphasis is placed on examining how the punk musician experiences the gradual process of deepening commitment to the punk scene and, through this, the multiple levels of power relations in his life. It is argued that the biographical approach can highlight the subjectivity of individual participants in their everyday practices and the wider social context in which they are actors. This article forms part of ‘On the Move’, a special issue marking the twentieth anniversary of the European Journal of Cultural Studies.

De-Westernizing Punk: Chinese Punk Lyrics and the Translocal Politics of Resistance

“…This continued interest in punk, even rebirth, is reflected in the scholarship. A recent resurgence of scholarly interest in punk includes nine monographs and edited collections (Ambrosch, 2018; Bernhard, 2019; Bestley et al, 2021; Dines et al, 2017; Dunn, 2016; Patton, 2018; Smith et al, 2017; Worley, 2017; Xiao, 2018) and a growing body of work focused on the ongoing lives of punk in places such as Portugal (Guerra, 2014, 2018; Guerra & Bennett, 2015; Guerra & Santos Silva, 2015; Santos Silva & Guerra, 2017), Brazil (Guerra & Gomes, 2017), Canada (Fauteux, 2017; O’Connor, 2002), China (Field & Groenewegen, 2008; Xiao, 2016, 2017a, 2017b, 2018; Xiao & Stanyer, 2017), Malaysia (Mura & Yuen, 2019) and Indonesia (Baulch, 2007; Donaghey, 2021; Dunn, 2016; S. Martin-Iverson, 2011, 2014, 2017; Saefullah, 2017).…”