I have a friend who's writing a dissertation on the same Advanced Higher English course as me. She is looking to write about books that centre around 80s skinhead culture. Does anyone have any suggestions for books that she could use?
If you don't know what skinhead culture is, just ask and I will try to explain it.
What fools these mortals be! William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream
Who cares if one more light goes out? Well I do. Linkin Park One More Light
It may be a few decades too old, but it is good to first go back and explore the origins of Nazism. I would suggest checking out "Mein Kampf" from her local library.
I did a report on Hitler and the experiences and reactions of the german bystanders in nazi germany during the holocaust. It is an amazing primary source and it really delves into the mindset of Hitler and, by extension, the ridiculous, but equally fascinating, beliefs of the nazi party as a whole.
I ended up checking out an original copy, first edition, published in the 30's and it is funny how the American critics write stuff on the front cover like "An amazing book that delves into the mind of one of the greatest leaders of our time" and "perhaps the most important books of our age". It was a "good" book, so to speak, but it got disturbing at times, especially knowing the terrible, terrible man "Uncle Adolf" (as my german grandmother sarcastically refers to him, and my grandfather, as) was.
"Often, the best way to improve is swallowing your ego and realizing you're a terrible writer in all aspects of writing, then working to improve it." -R.U.
Google gave me this, which might provide some help (although your friend might've found that already).
Considering how rare and hard to find this topic seems to be, I'm going to offer more suggestions on research methods than actual literature, because this is the kind of method I'd use to find suggestions and your friend probably has a head start on what's required.
First off, identify the important themes and what skinheads believed in at the time. This means dissecting skinhead culture, finding out what they generally valued, and what they'd consider important.
Secondly, analyze a bunch of literature in the 80s. Find newly published books, old favourites, really obscure niche lit, wildly popular stories, all sorts of types of books, and see which ones appear to match the criteria outlined in step one.
Thirdly, go through the books that match the criteria and see if any of them have a connection to skinhead culture. If no explicit connection is found, make a case these are likely skinhead literature items based on how they match the cultural values of skinhead culture.
Hope this helps!
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo
Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
I can personally recommend the book "Autobiography of the Recovering Skinhead" by Frank Meeink. It hits late 80s and early 90s, so almost on the mark for your friend. Not only is it very informative and sheds light on how the culture operates, but it's also very well written -- lots of places to cry, laugh, and scream at the book.
If you're interested, send me a PM and I'll send you my copy (it's a PDF, I think).
