Global Punk: Resistance and Rebellion in Everyday Life

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Global Punk examines the global phenomenon of DIY (do-it-yourself) punk, arguing that it provides a powerful tool for political resistance and personal self-empowerment. Drawing examples from across the evolution of punk from the streets of 1976 London to the alleys of contemporary Jakarta Global Punk is both historically rich and global in scope. Looking beyond the music to explore DIY punk as a lived experience, Global Punk examines the ways in which punk contributes to the process of disalienation and political engagement. The book critically examines the impact that DIY punk has had on both individuals and communities, and offers chapter-length investigations of two important aspects of DIY punk culture: independent record labels and self-published zines. Grounded in scholarly theories, but written in a highly accessible style, Global Punk shows why DIY punk remains a vital cultural form for hundreds of thousands of people across the globe today.

Reviews

Global Punk is filled with people I know, contemporary punk bands I like (or at least have heard of), and theoretic models I respect. It feels intimate. I believe that anyone actively involved in DIY punk rock will experience this intimacyit will be the book I buy for friends, and revisit for years to come. Highly recommended. -- Matthew Hart * Razorcake *
During my time reading Global Punk, I was surprised at how uplifted and empowered I felt. Id guess that Dunn wasnt thinking he was writing a self-help book, but reading stories of how punk has given agency to peopleand continues to do soof all sorts of backgrounds throughout the world gave this reader some hope in the midst of an all too depressing world. -- Kurt Morris * Razorcake *
Kevin Dunn has produced a very good and much-needed book ... [I]t offers an enjoyable and interesting read which researchers can build upon in the future. * Popular Music *
Ive been waiting a long time for a book that tackled punk in all its complexity both on a global and local level and finally, Kevin Dunn has done it. In Global Punk, Dunn doesnt come across as a dispassionate observer, but an active participant in a very real and living resistant subculture, one that still resonates across the world. By reminding us how vital punk still is on a day to day basis, Dunn has created a book that truly inspires and reminds us why punk still matters and why we should never give up the hope of positive change. * Brian Cogan, Associate Professor, Department of Communications, Molloy College, USA, and author of The Encyclopedia of Punk (2010) *
So, you think you know something about punk Well, maybe you do, but Kevin Dunn has forgotten more about punk than you and I will ever know. Global Punk is a book about this punk planet, alright, and it succeeds because of Dunn's intercontinental range. He takes us to punk scenes past and present, from basements to beaches, all around the globe, where punks have drawn from their DIY toolkit to build and sustain communities fueled by music and dedicated to resistance and empowerment. He captures punk's political potency with nuance and passion, and makes it accessible. The result is something of a punk public service announcementso pay attention! * Michael Stewart Foley, Professor, Department of American Studies, The University of Groningen, Netherlands, and author of Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (2015) *
More than music, deeper than fashion, broader than mere subculture, DIY punk is a way of being; it offers resources for positing alternative spaces and resistant modes of inhabiting the world. This delightfully accessible book melds punk history and global scene reports with an introduction to fundamental ideas about the self, the social, and what politics can mean and be. * Sara R. Marcus, English and Interdisciplinary Humanities, Princeton University, USA *
Dunns brilliant, demanding, delightful text draws you in, pulls and pushes you in new and different ways of thinking, makes you want to do something/anything. This is smart, accessible, committed, passionate workthis informative, interesting, challenging book has a heart every bit as powerful as its head. Per Patti Smith, Dunn proceeds with abandon, to the benefit of us all. This work joins a small and select group of texts, academic and not, which are upending longstanding conventions. It should be read and will resonate wide, deep, and far in Cultural Studies, Music History, Anthropology, Sociology, International Studies, Urban Studies, Feminist Studies, Queer Studies, Comparative Literature, and more, not least everyday folks who care and are committed to music and the way(s) in which it shapes our lives. Dunn dazzlingly locates, explicates, and explores borders, personhood, collectivities, space(s), and place(s). The shift is away from (but conscious of) the big, large, huge social science project to one where the cultural is the political and we engage the small worlds which are our world(s) (and hence matter most for most of us most of the time) and encounter webs in which in which life and movements are ineluctably produced in and through ever dynamic relations. This heady concoction and concatenation brings to mind Tsings metaphorical zones of awkward engagement a space/place/time elsewhere and elsewhen where things may begin to happen, where we manufacture meaning, and (im)possibilities abound. And does it all in a way which is legible for mere mortals. Global Punk changed how I understand and exist in the world(s). * Eric Selbin, Professor, Department of Political Science, Southwestern University, USA *

Author Bio

Kevin Dunn is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY. He is author of several books, including Imagining the Congo (2003), The Politics of Origin in Africa (2013) and Inside African Politics (2013). He is also a regular contributor to Razorcake and Maximumrocknroll magazines.