[Paleopsych] International Journal of Motorcycle Studies

[Premise Checker]

Well, this is not really science--motorcyclists are not, generally 
paragons of scientific virtue, *except* when keeping their bikes in good 
repair!--but they are a significant subculture and hence a fit subject for 
scientists to study. I'm surprised that this is the first journal to focus 
on them.

End of ten articles today.
-----------------

A glance at the International Journal of Motorcycle Studies: Getting serious 
about cycles
The Chronicle of Higher Education: Magazine & journal reader
http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2005/04/2005042001j.htm
Wednesday, April 20, 2005

    A new publication on motorcycle studies has hit the information
    highway. The online-only journal, which is aimed at scholars and
    motorcycle enthusiasts, will be published three times a year.

    Its inaugural issue includes articles on the iconography of the 1950s
    biker, motorcycle clubs in Britain between the two world wars, and
    American off-road motorcycle culture in the 1970s.

    The journal's managing editors are Suzanne Ferriss, a professor of
    English at Nova Southeastern University, who rides a 2005 Yamaha FZ1,
    and Wendy Moon, an assistant lecturer at the University of Southern
    California, who rides a 1999 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883.

    For Ms. Ferriss, "the motorcycle's cultural significance is tied up
    with complex issues of history, consumerism, psychology, design,
    aesthetics, gender, and sexuality," she writes, in a section of the
    journal called "Why Motorcycle Studies?" She says she is "particularly
    intrigued by the ways in which motorcycling culture has either
    reinforced or subverted traditional assumptions about masculinity and
    femininity."

    Ms. Moon writes that although some scholars "may find motorcycles to
    be too déclassé for serious study," motorcycle culture provides
    valuable insight into how subcultures work and their role in a larger
    society. "Subcultures," she says, "safeguard and preserve historically
    important -- though perhaps not currently prized -- values and keep
    them 'in the mix.'"

    The journal is available online at [45]http://ijms.nova.edu

    --Kellie Bartlett