Honors College Theses

Publication Date

2026

Major

Philosophy (B.A.)

Release Option

Restricted to Georgia Southern

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Jack Simmons

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to uncover punk rock’s essence and what needs to be true in order for an authentic expression of punk rock to exist. Under capitalism, culture is an industry, and the history of American counterculture is a history of commodities. This extends to the history of punk rock music.

There are unique complications when attempting to traverse the punk hellscape, namely that it can’t be documented with any technical depth without detracting from its immediacy, an essential part of its essence.

This thesis will analyze/deconstruct the traditional American narrative of counter-culture through the artifacts of punk, introduce the theories of Adorno and compare them with this narrative, and investigate the possibility of there existing an authentic counter-culture that is capable of meaningfully situating itself outside of the dominant historical dialectic.

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