The material culture of the surfing scene in the Netherlands (2014)

This thesis has two aims. The first is to answer the question: How is the contemporary Dutch surf culture mediated in material culture? To understand the identity of the Dutch surf culture it’s a valid approach to analyze the artifacts associated with this culture. Artifacts can convey meanings and are often better documents of cultural phenomena than the written or spoken word. But before analyzing the material culture connected to the Dutch surfing scene, this thesis needs to introduce the topic of material surf culture to the academic discipline. Surf culture – and ‘popular’ or ‘low’ culture in general – is often deemed irrelevant and not really worthy of critical attention. This is a shame, since surf culture and is artifacts are an interesting cultural phenomenon and a true product of modern history and society. The theoretical framework will provide relevant theories and thoughts through which the material surf culture can be investigated critically.