Freaks, geeks, and cool kids : teenagers in an era of consumerism, standardized tests, and social media / Murray Milner, Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Milner, Murray, Jr., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Teenagers.

Teenagers--United States.

United States.

Teenage consumers.

Physical Description:

xvii, 362 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

Second Edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016.

Summary:

In Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids: Teenagers in an Era of Consumerism, Standardized Tests, and Social Media, Second Edition, award-winning sociologist Murray Milner tries to understand why teenagers behave the way they do. The first edition drew upon two years of intensive fieldwork in one high school and 300 written descriptions of high schools across the country, where he argued that consumer culture greatly impacts the way our youth relate to one another and understand themselves and society. Milner now expands on that concept with a new year of fieldwork fifteen years after he began. He shows that the significance of consumerism has changed, that social media have altered the nature of fashion and "keeping up," and that standardized tests shape not only what happens in the classroom, but the nature of romantic relationships. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I The Puzzle and the Tools

Introduction 7

Chapter 1 Why Do They Behave Like That? 17

Chapter 2 The Tools for Understanding 37

Part II Explaining Teens' Behavior

Chapter 3 Fitting In, Standing Out, and Keeping Up 49

Chapter 4 Steering Clear, Hanging Out, and Hooking Up 71

Chapter 5 Exchanges, Labels, and Put-Downs 91

Part III Why Schools Vary

Chapter 6 The Pluralistic High School 109

Chapter 7 Other Kinds of Schools 141

Part IV Teen Status Systems and Consumerism

Chapter 8 Creating Consumers 165

Chapter 9 Consuming Life 181

Chapter 10 Conclusions and Implications 193

Part V Fifteen Years Later

Chapter 11 Fifteen Years Later 217.

Notes:

Earlier edition published in 2006.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 335-351) and index.

ISBN:

9781138013438

1138013439

9781138013445

1138013447

OCLC:

924478819