Social order at the rock concert

Abstract

The aim of this research is to investigate how social order is achieved and maintained at rock concerts. Stemming from a constructivist epistemology and the theoretical perspective of ethnomethodology, as proposed by and developed by Harold Garfinkel (1967), this research seeks to understand how social order is created and sustained at rock concerts through the processes attendees use to make sense of this social order as well as their awareness of these processes. This is done so through a form of ethnography named ethnomethodological ethnography and by utilising interviews with regular rock concert attendees and participant observations at rock concerts as methods of data collection. After rigorously analysing the data using thematic analysis three distinct themes emerged: the social rules of engagement; negotiating and navigating social spaces; and the connectedness of concert goers.