The role of the "third place" in the practices of youth leisure: house party (home party) as a social event

Abstract

The problem of youth leisure is a frequent object of study in modern sociology. However, Russian scientists are increasingly paying attention to club culture and various youth subcultures, often overlooking the social phenomenon of house parties. The article analyses the results of individual studies of house parties in the USA, Holland, Denmark, the UK (skins party), the former USSR (“kvartirnik”/home gig) and modern Russia (“vpiska” (inclusion)/ shubz and its various formats). For the methodological basis of the study two approaches are used. The approach of E. Hoffmann, that allows us to study a house party as a social event of an entertaining nature, and the theory by R. Oldenburg of the “third place”, that a house becomes during a party. The article touches upon the historical aspect of house parties, their golden age dating back to the 19th century in the UK. In the context of the sacredness of the event and institutional freedom, a house party is compared to a “crash pad” commune of the hippie subculture. The researchers note the possibility of forming a hangout (“tusovka”) as a series of house parties opp osing disciplinary culture and social hierarchy. Special attention is paid to the issue of alcohol consumption as a ritual of collective intoxication during house parties and drinking games. The concept of a home quasi-party is introduced, which main purpose is not entertainment, but education, political agitation or direct sales. The main idea of the article is to reflect not only the negative, but also the positive socio-cultural functions of a house party, that is considered by some researchers as an exclusively deviant and/or criminogenic form of leisure of the modern youth.