Ellis analyses fiction by Courttia Newland and Alex Wheatley to explore the links between identity and postcode boundaries in the depiction of black British youth subcultures. Developing upon Homi Bhabha’s invocation of a New Cosmopolitanism, Ellis describes a ‘new parochialism’ within which former codes of affiliation based upon formal and family histories and cultural styles are supplemented (rather than replaced) by new, local histories. If social identities are being reconfigured in this new parochialism, they are not being weakened, and the social signifiers of style and affiliation remain strong and result in violence. -- Provided by publisher.
