À travers ce carnet, nous communiquerons notamment l’agenda des différentes séances de séminaires que nous organisons sur le thème : « Ateliers d’échanges : les subcultures en questions, la parole aux acteurs ».
Nous entendons par subcultures, des groupes sociaux qui se distinguent par des modes spécifiques de penser, de se vêtir, de parler, d’agir et dont le tout, bien qu’opaque, « fait sens » pour leurs protagonistes. C’est à la perception et à l’interprétation de ce « sens » que sont consacrés ces ateliers. Les séances sont séquencées en trois temps. Tout d’abord, la parole est donnée aux acteurs afin qu’ils évoquent leurs parcours au sein de leur subculture. Une discussion, centrée sur les pratiques culturelles des intervenants, s’engage ensuite entre chercheurs et acteurs. Enfin, nous questionnons le rapport qu’entretiennent les acteurs avec les productions scientifiques qui ont pour objet d’étude leur subculture de référence. Pour cela des propositions bibliographiques sont transmises avant chaque atelier.
Nous envisageons de publier des comptes-rendus de nos séances sur ce blog ainsi que des billets afin de rendre compte de l’avancée de nos travaux sur les subcultures.
The first purpose of this scholarly blogis to communicate the schedule of seminars we organize on the following topic : « Subculture, let the actors speak». We also plan to use it to publish reports on our seminars. Finally, we’ll use this blog to present workin progress from our research on subcultures.
This approach is driven by a pragmatic assessment : we are a group of young researchers in social sciences confronted by what the english tradition names « Subcultures ». By this concept we under stand urban social groups characterized by specific ways of speaking, thinking and acting which « make sense » as a whole for their protagonists. We focus our seminars on the meaning and the perception of this« sense ».
In each workshop the voices of the actors are brought to the fore. They brie fly recount their career, their motivations for participating and realizing themselves in one practice or another, their reasons for pursuing their activities or, on the contrary, abandoning them.
Afterwards, we question the relation between these actors and the practice of social science research. In our research fields, we notice the weight of suspicion concerning academic institutions. Sometimes, subjects pronounce reluctance when we explain that our research is driving towards a Phd. In a sense, researchers have to prove their sympathy for the subcultures, the truth fullness of their methods and the interest of the research. Marginality, trespass or subversion, which defines some subcultures, sometimes include disapproval or distrust of institutions. The university does not escape from this reality. Consequently, what does the academic world mean for these actors ? How do they read the academic works that describe their world? At least, are they interested in them? What are their reasons for participating, or not, in a social science survey ?
This time will also be used to question the position of the researcher in this kind of subcultural survey. We’ll engage in a methodological and epistemic reflection on the proximity or distance of the subjects of our analysis, and on the methods used to enter these groups. Finally, we’ll question the extent to which the researchers are invested in the activities they analyse.