The book contributes to retracing the elaboration of the corpus of theoretical and methodological approaches, themes and perspectives of analysis from which contemporary research on youth cultures originates. From the privileged vantage point of sociology, the book revisits landmark moments in research on youth cultures: the analytical pathway developed by the Chicago School of Sociology on young people living in the urban mosaic; the background, contents and (in)actuality of Karl Mannheim's perspective on generations; the broad debate around the distinctive features of "youth culture" looping back around to Talcott Parsons; the analysis on youth, dissent and counterculture developed by Goodman, Roszak and Keniston; the research on youth subcultures carried out by the CCCS at Birmingham University.