"We are the Mods"

Drawing on archival research, oral history interviews, and participant observation, this examination of the adoption and adaptation of Mod style across geographic space also maps its various interpretations over time, from the early 1960s to the present. The book traces the Mod youth culture from its genesis in the dimly lit clubs of London's Soho, where it began as a way for young people to reconfigure modernity after the chaos of World War II, to its contemporary, country-specific expressions. By examining Mod culture in the United States, Germany, and Japan alongside the United Kingdom, «We Are the Mods» contrasts the postwar development of Mod in those countries that lost the war with those that won. The book illuminates the culture's fashion, music, iconography, and gender aesthetics, to create a compelling portrait of a transnational subculture.

Autorentext

The Author: Christine Jacqueline Feldman received her Ph.D. in communication and a doctoral certificate in cultural studies from the University of Pittsburgh. A recipient of numerous scholarly accolades, she was a 2006-2007 German-American Fulbright Fellow at the Forschungsstelle für Zeitgeschichte in Hamburg. She is also the author of «Austin Powers: Reinventing the Myth of Mod Spies and Swingers» featured in the anthology Secret Agents: Popular Icons Beyond James Bond (Peter Lang, 2009).

Zusammenfassung
«Combining historical and contemporary sources, Christine Jacqueline Feldman convincingly accounts for the persisting appeal of a transnational subcultural style by accompanying us on a 'Mod Odyssey'. Interpreting Mod as an idealized modernity, a continuingly re-configured cosmopolitanism that encompasses entrepreneurial commoditization not as dilution but as inherent inspiration, this book makes a crucial contribution to a new generation of youth cultural literature.» (David Muggleton, University of Chichester, United Kingdom)
«In 'We Are the Mods', Christine Jacqueline Feldman presents a fascinating, informed, and incisive chronicle of the history and cultural dynamics of the Mod subculture. Feldman deftly shows how the street-sharp, effortlessly cool Mod movement first took shape among style-savvy youth cliques of 1960s Britain, their bold élan developing into one of the decade's abiding icons of pulsating modernity. Carefully unravelling the minutiae of Mod panache, Feldman demonstrates the myriad nuances the style accrued as it was transposed to different global and local contexts. Exploring the contemporary 'reanimation' of Mod style in locales stretching from Cologne to Kyoto, 'We Are the Mods' compellingly demonstrates how retro-chic cannot be dismissed as merely a depthless, postmodern 'imitation of dead styles', but instead should be recognized as an active cultural enterprise in which media forms of the past are commandeered and mobilized in meaningful ways in the lived cultures of the present. Drawing on a wealth of original fieldwork - including extensive oral testimony and many unique photographs - Feldman provides a perceptive and absorbing analysis of contemporary youth culture. Anyone interested in fashion, style, and identity will find 'We Are the Mods' a tremendous resource, and the book deserves a wide audience.» (Bill Osgerby, London Metropolitan University)