Phenomenology of Youth Cultures and Globalization : Lifeworlds and Surplus Meaning in Changing Times

How can phenomenology and phenomenological modes of analysis help us to understand the sense-making practices deployed by young people in the context of asymmetrical globalization in the global North and South? This volume addresses this question, resuscitating and historicizing the formative - if generally under-acknowledged - role phenomenology has had within youth cultural studies, the sociology of youth, and related fields, while at the same time illustrating the diversity of youth meaning-making practices and expanding our horizons for understanding and responding to the unique, yet historically-situated, contexts faced by young people in the contemporary moment.

This edited collection brings together scholars who draw on phenomenological approaches to understand the experiences of young people growing up under contemporary conditions of globalization. Phenomenology is both a philosophical and pragmatic approach to social sciences research, that takes as central the meaning-making experiences of research participants. One of the central contentions of this book is that phenomenology has long informed critical empirical approaches to youth cultures, yet until recently its role has not been thusly named. This volume aims to resuscitate and recuperate phenomenology as a robust empirical, theoretical, and methodological approach to youth cultures. Chapters explore the lifeworlds of young people from countries around the world, revealing the tensions, risks and opportunities that organize youth experiences.