Correction Essay

Follow these guidelines to make corrections to essay

· It seems like the first part of your introduction is not stated in your own words. Remember, you should only be citing the text when discussed in class.

· Here is your thesis statement: "In that light I will describe people as race willing with the subculture identification of music and to be precise, the jazz music subculture (Brown and Szeman)."

· This seems very confusing based on the syntactical arrangement of the sentence.

· You need to focus more on the application of your theory to your subject. You do not need to include most of the background information that is presented in your body paragraphs.

· It is not clear how your are reflecting on the intersection of subculture and race as it applies to jazz subculture. Furthermore, "jazz" itself is not a subculture. Instead, you may want to focus on the hipster subculture of the 1940s, who were great aficionados of jazz and many of whom were white. In that respect, you could talk about how the white hipster borrows from a black culture form (jazz) when discussing your theory on race.

Jazz subcultures

Subcultures refer to the groups in society that have norms and values that are different from the ones held by most of the population in society. Subcultural theory is an invention of the Anglo-American sociologists and criminologists of the 1960s and 1970s. They point to male urban working class youths whose actions and values are contrary to the mainstream society. The mark of identification for such youths becomes different as can be culturally identified with music, dress code, language, tattoos among others. The groups need not to be composed of people of the same race, class and gender. These labelled groupings are distinguished by their class, language, working class situations and ethnicity (IIP Digital). These cultural and social cultural differences make subcultures relatively homogeneous. That means subcultures must bear a specific and similar cultural identity to qualify for the name and must also be particular to certain societies that labelled them as such. In that light I will describe people as race willing with the subculture identification of music and to be precise, the jazz music subculture (Brown and Szeman).

Jazz music in the 1970’s underwent significant changes and revolutions. In this regard, the music got reinvented to become one of the most popular and multifaceted tool in the society. Being a time during which the society was recollecting it in terms of political establishment of many nations, jazz underwent changes including the formation of bands which features either single races or coalition between many races. In the US, for example, the 1970’s was a period of reinvention where the society was reinvented through the invention of new technologies that were then featured in the entails of jazz music. The liberty and political freedom in the US, for example inspired many jazz bands towards the development of bands and jazz groups that were inclined towards reflecting the liberty and freedom that had been gained at the time. In regard to the fight for the liberty of the society in terms of civil rights, the jazz music was being used as the major tool with which to advance the advocacy for political freedom and liberty. This was the foundation for the development of subcultures within the jazz fraternity (Atzmon).

Jazz is an example of a subculture that got it identity from music. The jazz music has its roots from the interaction of music traditions from both Europe and Africa. This fact has led to people perceiving the group as a union of African and European music. On close examination of the music it is noted that it has the aspects from both cultures. From the African perspective, jazz music attained the rhythm and the feel. The blues quality is also a contribution from the African music not forgetting the tradition of playing an instrument in your own impassive way giving it an extension of the human voice. On the other hand, from the European music, jazz got harmony. It refers to the aspect of accompanying the chords with tunes which is a common quality of European classical music’s harmony. In addition, most of the instruments used in playing jazz such as saxophone, piano, trumpet among others have their origin in Europe (Théberge).

Musical improvisation which is also an outstanding feature of the jazz music is a contribution from both cultures. The emergence of jazz was created over a period of time and it was not just one individual or a certain race that was responsible for its creation. It was a platform in which people met, mixed characterized by cores and emotions of many people from different cultures. The interactive nature of the African culture that held that each person has a pert to play in society was what was carried to Europe and later to America through slave trade. The music served as a kind of social glue that bonded the groups that were marginalized together. Jazz was established as a way of social identity of a class of people that was excluded from the main cultures. Upon its development, many people began identifying with it and it is from this that different cultures merged to form a subgroup that was musically established. Whites and blacks, natives and immigrants were all brought together and identified with each other. Whereas in other cities ethnicity was a major aspect that marked the differences in people, in the jazz birth city, New Orleans, ethnicity and race was an opportunity to improve the lives of people as it was their differences that added flavor to their lifestyle (Nicholson).

In that light, subcultures area social phenomenon that breaks the barriers created by race. In the development of jazz we see people coming together and forgetting their main stream cultures. They join and come up with something better than what they originally had and hence become more productive and holistic in society. Basing from this, it is clear that it all depends on the intentions behind the formation of subcultures. Therefore, this acts as a clear indication that can be used to oppose the common notion that subcultures are formed for values and attitudes that are conducive to crime and violence.

Works cited

Atzmon, Gilad. "Politics And Jazz". www.counterpunch.org. N.p., 2004. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

Brown, Nicholas, and Imre Szeman. Pierre Bourdieu. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2000. Print.

IIP Digital,. "Early Jazz Grew Popular Among A Young, Urban Subculture". Iipdigital.usembassy.gov. N.p., 2008. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

Nicholson, Stuart. "Musical Notes: A Mass Of Sub-Cultures Under Jazz's Umbrella". The Independent. N.p., 1999. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

Théberge, Paul. Any Sound You Can Imagine. Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press, 1997. Print.

Answer these questions

   What was the strongest part of your essay? What was the weakest part of your essay?

•       How did completing this assignment help you to understand subcultures more clearly?

•       What would you like me to focus on when presenting you with feedback?

•       If you had more time, what would you have done differently?