This book examines the everyday living conditions experienced and also shaped by young people in Europe. Contributors reflect on the current context of economic, social and political change affecting youth in the critical transition from dependence to independence. The volume provides the reader with a multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary view of youth cultures, drawn from a variety of recent research throughout the continent.

Youth Identities and Social Transformations in Modern Indonesia addresses current struggles and opportunities facing Indonesia’s youth across the archipelago. Contributions to this volume delve into youth aspirations and their everyday lives - education; friendship; work; leisure; sexuality; religion - described through the lens of the young people themselves. They are well educated but employment is hard to find: alternative paths to adulthood can include early marriage or joining street protest movements. In public rhetoric youth is often associated with ‘moral panics’ related to sexual morality, and also to violent religious identities and street protests. The authors include leading scholars of Indonesia and its youth, reporting on ethnographic research from across the archipelago. Contributors are: Linda Rae Bennett, Patrick Guinness, Noorhaidi Hasan, C. Ugik Margiyatin, Pam Nilan, Lyn Parker, Kathryn Robinson, Patricia Spyer, Puju Semedi, Ben White, Tracy Wright Webster.

As the analytical concept of youth gained importance, and was generally accepted as a period with its own cultural values and norms, social scientists began to analyze how social change was linked to youth. In the Middle East, a new concept of youth already began to find its way into the region in the late 19th century, and played a role in the anti-colonialist struggle. The same concept still plays a leading role today in the way young people act in relation to traditional values, political systems, and the West. In the Arab world in general, some 50% of the total population is 18 years of age or below, which means that youth as a social group is of growing importance in the area. This also means that for decades to come Middle Eastern governments will be challenged as their young citizens demand work, a place to live, and access to enjoyable and challenging activities for the ever-expanding leisure time embedded in a modern way of life. Drawing on extensive research, which covers a wide geographical area, this volume includes, among others, articles on: Youth, History and Change in the Modern Arab World; The Discovery of Adolescence in the Middle East; Discovering the Other: Arab/Jewish Youth Encounters in Arab Films; Youth, Moral and Islamism: Spending Leisure Time with Hamas in Palestine; The Construction of Youth in Public Discourse in Turkey: A Generational Approach; and, Youth Culture and Official State Discourse in Iran. Youth and Youth Cultures in the Contemporary Middle East is a comprehensive work which describes and analyzes the forms of youth culture presently being exposed throughout the contemporary Middle East. It will appeal not only to scholars, but also to those with a general interest in Middle Eastern culture.

This book explores how African youth are depicted in contemporary literature and popular culture, and discusses the different ways by which they attempt to construct personal and cultural identities through popular culture and social media outlets. The contributors approach the subject from an interdisciplinary perspective, looking at images in children’s and adolescent literature from Africa, and the African diaspora, from Nollywood and Hollywood movies, from popular magazines, and from youth cultures encountered directly through field experiences. The findings reveal that there are many stereotypes about Africa, African youth and black cultures, and that African youth are aware of these. Since they juggle multiple identities shaped by their ethnicities, race and religion, it is often a challenge for them to define themselves. As they also share a global youth culture that transcends these cultural markers, some take advantage of media outlets to voice their concerns and participate in political struggles. Others simply use these to promote their personal interests. Contributors ponder the challenges involved in constructing unique identities, offering ideas on how African youth are doing so successfully or not in different parts of the continent and the African diaspora, and thus offer new possibilities for youth studies.

A major new resource book for academics and students of youth studies, this work offers a rare comparative review of a field which is often focused on the local or national situation. Drawing together authors from across the world, the book combines assessments of the theory, methodology and practice of youth research, and the impact of globalization on this field of study. A particular strength of the text is its exploration of theoretical issues of globalization through substantial pieces of empirical work, some of which cover regions frequently overlooked in the international youth research scene, such as South East Asia and Eastern Europe.

This book explores young Cambodians’ perceptions of their place in today’s society and how they interact with the country’s arts and culture scene. The popularity of Cambodian hip-hop among youth presents an opportunity for research to dive deeper into the roles of popular music in society and how these roles, in turn, shape Cambodian cultural identities. Research on the above-mentioned topic by local researchers is scarce. There is a gap in the research on the topic of identity, its connection to arts and culture, and how these two are positioned in a broader context of Cambodian identity politics and cultural economy. This book aims to provide a starting point for observation and conversation about youth cultural identities and the subtexts of certain narratives disseminated through music. The book contributes to the global research agenda by adding to the few voices in academia looking at localised models of cultural economies and trying to understand them based on local phenomena observed through local lenses. Utilising the author’s perspective and social experiences as a Cambodian researcher growing up and living in Cambodia, the book provides a unique perspective of the country’s cultural landscape. This will make the book of interest to all scholars of international cultural policy and the global creative economy, especially those with a particular interest in Cambodia.

A cutting-edge study showcases the emergence of contemporary youth activism in the United States, its benefits to young people, its role in strengthening society, and its powerful social justice implications. At a time when youth are too often dismissed as either empowered consumers or disempowered deviants, it is vital to understand how these young people are pushing back, challenging such constructions, and advancing new possibilities for their institutions and themselves. This book examines the latest developments in the field of contemporary youth activism (CYA) and documents the myriad ways in which youth activists are effecting social change, even as they experience personal change. By taking public, political action on a range of intersecting issues, youth activists are shifting their own developmental pathways, shaping public policy, and shaking up traditional paradigms. Section one of the book offers a historical perspective on youth activism in the United States, followed by a discussion of contemporary examples of CYA for social justice. The second and third sections analyze the individual, institutional, and ideological effects of CYA, arguing that youth activism works to promote change at three levels: self, systems, and in the broader society. Readers will come away with a clearer understanding of the many ways in which today's youth activists are working to reimagine and remake American democracy, reawakening the promise of a multi-issue, progressive movement for social justice.

The concept of moral panic has received considerable scholarly attention, but as yet little attention has been accorded to panics over children and youth. This is the first book to examine this important and controversial social issue by employing a rigorous intellectual framework to explore the cultural construction of youth, through the dissemination of moral panics. It is accessible in manner and makes use of the latest contemporary research by addressing some of the pressing recent concerns relating to children and youth, including cyber-related panics, child abuse and pornography, education and crime. A truly international collection, this volume features new global research focusing on the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Africa, and France as well as the United States. Genuinely multidisciplinary in approach, it will appeal to researchers and students across the social sciences and humanities - from sociology and social theory, to media, education, anthropology, criminology, geography and history.