CULTURAL SCENES AS NETWORKS ON THE STUDY OF CONTEMPORARY SUBCULTURAl YOUTH

Abstract

In this paper, I draw on my research with youth, from my undergraduate thesis to the present, focusing on my ongoing research within the network referred to as the “scene,” which currently constitutes my ethnographic field. I seek to discuss what it means to conduct research within this ethnographic context, examining the implications of the ethnographer’s liminal position as a way of being in the field and of practicing anthropology, which I refer to as “living” the field. To this end, I engage with the work of Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar in Laboratory Life, particularly their understanding of the anthropological study of science as involving research conducted through networks, drawing a parallel with the study of cultural scenes frequented by contemporary youth. My aim is to propose a new perspective on anthropological practice with contemporary youth involved in political activism, not only through traditional forms of organization, but also through artistic expression and the independent organization of these movements by groups that we refer to as “scenes.”