Sidewalk
"In Sidewalk, Mitchell Duneier takes us back to the streets of the Village, but finds a scene very different from the one Jacobs described.
Work Information
"In Sidewalk, Mitchell Duneier takes us back to the streets of the Village, but finds a scene very different from the on…
"In Sidewalk, Mitchell Duneier takes us back to the streets of the Village, but finds a scene very different from the one Jacobs described. Much of the architecture remains, and many people live the way Jacobs suggested, but there is another population in the Village today - poor black men who make their livelihoods on the sidewalks by selling secondhand goods, panhandling, and scavenging books and magazines left out for recycling, and whose appearance and behavior are affronts to the sensibilities of many passersby."--BOOK JACKET. "In recent years, these men and others like them have become the targets of "quality of life" campaigns in cities nationwide. Mayors scold them. Police keep after them. Businesses want them off the streets. Even liberal whites feel uneasy in their presence. These men are seen as proof of the influential "broken windows" theory, which holds that the mere appearance of social disorder leads to crime."--BOOK JACKET. "But Duneier contends that, far from being incitements to crime, the men on the street are necessary and beneficial to city life today, and that their behavior, which often appears disorderly, actually contributes to the order and well-being of the neighborhood. For five years, he spent time on the blocks with them - working with them at their vending tables, hearing their stories, and observing the roles they play in the ongoing life of the city. Often he was accompanied by Ovie Carter, whose photographs depict Village life with rare breadth and insight."--BOOK JACKET. "Sidewalk brings us into the hearts and minds of the men on the street, showing us not only their common human values but also the many practical and moral choices they must make every day."--BOOK JACKET.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Farrar Straus & Giroux
- Published
- 1999-11-03
- Pages
- 320 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 16.51 x 3.81 x 24.13 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780374263553
- ISBN-10
- 0374263558
- Category
- 洋書/Politics & Social Sciences/Social Sciences/Specific Demographics/African American Studies
Chronicling the fortunes and misfortunes of street peddlers in New York, this unique study of modern urban street culture follows a dozen people who sell on the streets of Greenwich Village as they struggle against the city and common misconceptions in order to survive.
Mitchell Duneier, born in 1961, is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of California at Santa Barbara. His first book, Slim's Table, was given the 1994 Distinguished Publication Award of the American Sociological Association.
Reviews
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This is one of the best books on homeless people and I love the way it is written. amazing book
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This is brilliantly and skilfully written. The ethnographic observations of the social worlds of the homeless men are seemingly sensitively and honestly written, in fully informed and enthusiastic consent of the participants. The way in which history and sociological theory is interwoven into the narrative of the ethnography is superb and makes the book informative and readable.
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I love Duneier's work, going back to "Slim's Table." But this book captures something else; embedded within the text is Duneier's compassion for those he's working with, and who he is writing about. Almost like Vankatesh's accounts of the underground economy and Chicago gangs, this work explores how life on the streets, mostly through "legitimate" book selling, is just that: legitimate. Yet, Duneier delves into the complex nature of sponsorship and kinship in this work; how the men of the streets in Greenwich Village look out for one another and lead lives as meaningful as anyone with a "nine-to-five" job. Ethnographic accounts should always be approached with caution, in that they serve a purpose, usually the author's thesis or hypothesis. Duneier, however, really cares about the people with whom he works and is looking for change. His supplemental DVD with a lecture and video on this book really captures that. A must read for sociology students.
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This book has photos to enhance the ethnology experience. Sidewalk is a great ethnology of Greenwich Village homeless community life
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This was a very interesting book. I purchased it for a Community Studies class at my college. Honestly I was not expecting anything interesting and was prepared to bear my way though it for the sake of the class and my grade. I was very pleasantly surprised about how interesting this book actually is. It is written in a way that is very conversational, almost story teller like, yet it is still packed with interesting information. This book shows aspects and connections within society that most people will never see or understand. It is a window into a society within our society. You become attached to people this book writes about, you want to so you can find out what choice they made, and why. Duneier is an outsider submerging himself into a society unlike anything he has known for the sake of information and exploration and there is something fascinating about how he perceives the people he encounters and their lifestyles. I feel like I learned a lot from this book and have really changed my perspective on things I would have never before considered. I am really glad my teacher chose this book out of all the books that could have worked because I really leaned some valuable things through reading it. It was both captivating and informative. The book came very quickly, within a few days of purchase so that was great. Also this book was very reasonably priced for how good of a read it was.
Related Literary Awards
- Los Angeles Times Book Prize Edition 20 (1999) ・Winner・Winner