Gregory J. Snyder

Assistant Professor Sociology, Baruch College

Gregory J. Snyder is a sociologist and ethnographer who studies subcultures.  His research focuses on urban subcultures such as graffiti writers, hip hop artists, musicians and professional skateboarders, with an emphasis on subculture theory, urban space and issues of social justice.  His first book, Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New York’s Urban Undergound, (NYU Press, 2009) has received critical acclaim in both the New York Times, and the journal of Contemporary Sociology. Currently, Professor Snyder is working on his second book titled, The Grind: Professional Street Skateboarding in an Age of Spatial Constraint, (NYU Press, Aug. 2012). His most recent article, “The City and the Subculture Career: Professional Street Skateboarding in LA”, introduces the idea of “subcultural enclaves” as a mechanism for attracting participants to urban centers, which foster “subculture careers” and appears in the international journal, Ethnography (Sage, 2012). He is currently working on an article titled, “Spot Profits: The Subcultural Production of Skateboarding Spaces” , which follows the entire process of professional street skating and describes all of the elements that go into the execution of skateboarding tricks which are produced in magazines. This paper also highlights the complex role that places play in the production of skateboarding careers.