. Sounding the Working-Class Subject

Abstract

Chapter 2, “Sounding the Working-Class Subject,” contests the assumptions of a universal middle-class culture and argues for the existence of a distinct working-class culture. A substantial portion of the chapter is devoted to fleshing out the particular character of working-class culture and the ways in which country music gives voice to it. I analyze selected country songs in connection with an account of contemporary white working-class culture and subjectivity developed from a body of empirical research. My song analyses identify values that recur frequently in country music, including “being country,” walking the walk, implicit communication, and community-oriented individualism (or “sociocentrism”), and I identify parallels between these themes and working-class values and repertoires, as delineated by empirical research.