Understanding Society through Popular Music

257 Pages·2017·4.67 MB·English

by  Joseph A. Kotarba (ed.)

Understanding Society through Popular Music amply demonstrates how
music provides a powerful portal through which to understand the
social worlds we inhabit. Varieties of popular music are revealed as
master symbols through which identities are formed and performed, life
passages negotiated, values handed down or contested in families, and
communities and social institutions are exemplified. Kotarba’s engaging
examples and cases reveal the many ways in which music acts as both a
resource for, and mirror of, peoples’ lives. Everyone who has ever had a
favorite song will enjoy Understanding Society through Popular Music.
Eugene Halton, University of Notre Dame.
This is a terrific primer for showing (and not just telling) students how
sociology can inform their understanding of pop music, whether they
experience it intimately through their earbuds, or in collective ecstasy
among festival crowds.
David Grazian, University of Pennsylvania, author of
Mix It Up: Popular Culture, Mass Media, and Society.
Kotarba's Understanding Society Through Popular Music provides an
insightful, illustration-filled introduction to the many ways music
shapes, and is shaped by, our everyday social experiences. In so doing,
Kotarba's text represents a useful work for captivating students and
helping them recognize the power and influence of music throughout
our social world.
Jason E. Sumerau, University of Tampa.

Understanding Society through
Popular Music
Written for Introductory Sociology and Sociology of Popular Music
courses, this book uses popular music to illustrate fundamental social
institutions, theories, sociological concepts, and processes. The authors
use music, a social phenomenon of great interest, to draw students in
and bring life to their study of social life.
Joseph A. Kotarba, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology at Texas State
University and a faculty member at the Institute for Translational
Sciences at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston. His
major areas of scholarly interest are culture, science, health and illness,
deviance, everyday life social theory, and qualitative methods.

Understanding Society
through Popular Music
Third Edition
Edited by
Joseph A. Kotarba
Please visit the book’s companion website at
www.routledge.com/cw/kotarba
Third edition published 2018
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Taylor & Francis
The right of Joseph A. Kotarba to be identified as the author of the
editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has
been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 2008
Second edition published by Routledge 2013
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Kotarba, Joseph A.
Title: Understanding society through popular music / Joseph A. Kotarba.
Description: Third edition. | New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. | Includes
bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017000144| ISBN 9781138806511 (hardback : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781138806528 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315751641 (e- book)
Subjects: LCSH: Popular music—Social aspects.
Classification: LCC ML3918.P67 K67 2017 | DDC 306.4/8424—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017000144
ISBN: 978–1–138–80651–1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978–1–138–80652–8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978–1–315–75164–1 (ebk)
Typeset in Adobe Caslon and Copperplate
by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk
I dedicate this book to my favorite quintet:
Polly, Chris, Jessie, Andrew, and Stan.

Contents
Preface xi
by Joseph A. Kotarba
Acknowledgments xxi
Introduction: The Sociology of Popular Music 1
Joseph A. Kotarba
Chapter 1 Social Interaction 21
Joseph A. Kotarba
Chapter 2 The Family 41
Joseph A. Kotarba
Chapter 3 The Self, Identity, and the Life Course 65
Joseph A. Kotarba
Chapter 4 Youth, Deviance, and Subcultures 81
Joseph A. Kotarba
Chapter 5 Religion, Politics, and Popular Music 101
Joseph A. Kotarba
Chapter 6 Class and Gender 125
Joseph A. Kotarba
Chapter 7 Hip-Hop Culture and Social Change 139
Raphael Travis and Scott W. Bowman
IX