1 / 25

Sidewalk

Sidewalk. Mitchell Duneier . Greenwich Village, NYC. Hakim Hasan. Book vendor At first, predominantly “Black books” – by or about African-Americans Exceptionally well-read Becomes romantically involved with Alice, merge tables. When asked, . Hakim says he is a “public character”

asa
Download Presentation

Sidewalk

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Sidewalk Mitchell Duneier

  2. Greenwich Village, NYC

  3. Hakim Hasan Book vendor At first, predominantly “Black books” – by or about African-Americans Exceptionally well-read Becomes romantically involved with Alice, merge tables

  4. When asked, Hakim says he is a “public character” Phrase comes from Jane Jacobs’ 1961 book The Death and Life of Great American Cities Also about Greenwich Village

  5. Structure of sidewalk life hangs partly upon Public characters Frequent contact with a wide circle of people News of sidewalk interest travels this way

  6. Jacobs described how Local shopkeepers Used to have spare keys for neighbors Watchful eye on children Call police if threatening figures loomed Had an interest in law and order

  7. Unlike suburban America where Errands are done by cars, In Greenwich village, most people walk to do them Sidewalk life crucial – strangers must sense mutual support Behaviors and boundaries clearly defined

  8. Currently, Poor Black men make their lives on the village sidewalks Different than 1961 Then – stricter racial segregation, well-policed skid row areas of NYC Now – have to handle their own social boundaries

  9. Why these changes? Extreme concentration of poverty Crack epidemic Workfare changes – loss of benefits

  10. How sidewalk life works today Some magazine vendors are homeless Some find that police throw their tables out into garbage trucks when they leave for a minute Some scavenge garbage to sell on street Some panhandle

  11. Duneier asks sociological questions About order, exclusion, stigmatization, city’s response, etc.

  12. Street life provides social support For those not receiving it from social service agencies or religious groups Chance to earn wages, support self and others Carves order out of chaos

  13. Government response “Broken windows” theory – minor signs of disorder lead to more serious crime Therefore –city has social controls – limiting vending space, throwing away belongings “Quality of life” issues are big concerns in major U.S. cities

  14. Sidewalk life influenced by larger forces Global level – deindustrialization National level – stratification of race and class and gender NYC level – punishment/restriction of vendors

  15. “Mitch” Duneier did participant observation One type of social research Worked as scavenger/vendor Parts of 1996-99 “professor” or “scholar” to some

  16. Ovie Carter Photojournalist Helps him to see things he hadn’t noticed

  17. In immersing himself in the sidewalk Duneier hopes to explain the social forces that determine how sidewalk life is lived

  18. Issues with this type of research Subjectivity Generalizability Trust

More Related