According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the word 'subculture' is countable, which means it should be used with an article. However, I often see it used without any. For example:
Much of the available space in this book will therefore be taken upwith a description of the process whereby objects are made to mean andmean again as ‘style’ in subculture. (Dick Hebdige, Subculture: TheMeaning of Style, p. 3)
Certainly a case could be made that the Amish represent a subculture,. . . . For decades, subculture has come under intense scrutiny bysocial science scholars who claim that the term is too broad, toobiased, or simply out of date. (J. Patrick Williams, SubculturalTheory: Traditions and Concepts, p. 3)
Moreover, the word 'subculture' modified by a noun is used with the definite article in some publications but not in others. Examples:
In this the punk subculture can be contrasted against the WestIndian styles which had provided the basic models. (Dick Hebdige,Subculture: The Meaning of Style, p. 65)
DJ and rap skills became key measures of status in hip-hop subculture,along with a series of other important distinctions. (J. Patrick Williams, Subcultural Theory: Traditions and Concepts, p. 55)
My question is: when, after all, do we use an article with the noun 'subculture', especially when it is modified by another noun?