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Subculture and myth: the case of Robert Johnson in the 1920s–1930s US South

Studies in Symbolic Interaction

ISBN: 978-0-85724-361-4, eISBN: 978-0-85724-362-1

Publication date: 30 September 2010

Abstract

This paper focuses on the role of myth in group identity maintenance. It begins by looking at the occupational group, but broadens to show how subsociety and the larger society affected the group's identity and actions. Mississippi Delta blues performers’ use of myth serves as the historical example, and this analysis shows how the group reacted to living in a segregated and racist society. Analysis of songs demonstrates how myth can play a role in tying together this subordinated group in society and perpetuate myth. How the blues subculture still employs these myths today is also addressed.

Citation

Danaher, W.F. (2010), "Subculture and myth: the case of Robert Johnson in the 1920s–1930s US South", Denzin, N.K. (Ed.) Studies in Symbolic Interaction (Studies in Symbolic Interaction, Vol. 35), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 285-307. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0163-2396(2010)0000035019

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited