Urban Danger - Sally Engle Merry

"Urban Danger" by Sally Engle Merry

Thesis: The idea of living in a city atmosphere with a population of people whom are different in life style, views of society, background and economic status. Crime becomes a major factor in these areas. This article talks about the essence of fear, whom it affects and what it is.

Sally Engle Merry address the elements of fear and how it affects people who live in high crime areas. She chooses the Dover Square project wyhere there is a mixture of people. Some being black, white, chinese or hispanic. "

Each ethnic group is scattered throughout the development, yet residents mainatain virtually all of their close social relationships with neighbors of the same ethnicity. Consequently, neighbors who belong to different ethnic groups often remain strangers."

Merry goes on to explain how the different ethnic groups respond to their enviroment, she speaks of a young chinese woman who comes home at night by car alerting her parents to her arrival. A middle age black woman who does her errands before the youth populate the streets and then the chinese man whom is fluent in martial arts walks about freely. All of these people have the same fears and concerns but yet they respond to them differently.

Merry answers this by explaing that "interpretation of the surrounding enviroment" is what creates the fear in the individual. And because we all have different ways of perceiving our world then we all have different views on how fearful it is. "Fear refers to the inner emotional state and individual experiences as he or she contemplates the danger he or she beleives to exist." (Merry 125) Understanding this fact will allow one to understand how people perceive dangerous situations. Merry explains that each individual perceives fear differently whether be loss of property,personal harm and or humuliation by social figures. This perception is what ignites the emotional state of fear.

I conceptualize fear as being harmed physically, because it can potentially lead to death or severe health or emotional problems. With that personal conception of fear I often do not travel alone at night or in dangerous areas that I am not familiar with. My own conception of fear may differ from someone elses in that someone else may be afraid to lose property or be degraded in some way.Therefore, I agree with Merry that fear is a personal experience rather than a social one. Because each individual is different. And although we may all view life in similar ways our experiences and personal perceptions of our world is what ultimately creates the fear factor.

Gangs Poverty and the Future

"Gangs,Poverty,and the Future" James Diego Vigil

Thesis: Individuals whom live in poverty tend to become very easily influenced by drugs, gangs and crime.

The article written by Vigil discusses how individuals living in povertyin Los Angeles are easily influenced to fall into the gangs that control the streets. Vigil talks about the social dichotomy of the fortunate and the less fortunate. He makes a reference to the "theory of strain". This theory states that the "status goals established by the dominant society, and the inadequate means of the low income people to reach these goals." This applies to low income people because it is difficult to acheive the goals set forth by society ("the wealthy") due to limited means. And the unfortunate use different methods of acheiving some type of success for example selling drugs.
Another poin that Vigil makes is the loss of social control leading to the development of gangs. "Institutions such as family, schools,and police are expected to proovide this control, however where these institutions have broken down, the situation is ripe for the rise of and perpetuation of street level gangs."( Vigil pg 234) Not having guidance or anytype of positive social structure to rely on individuals tend to bond together in order to recreate this feeling thats what "the gang" is. The article explains how society views only the negative aspect of gangs that being t"the drive bys, random shootings, and criminal lifestyles."(Vigil 235) And the somewhat positive aspects of gang life is ignored. The whole idea of protection offered by a gang is overlooked. One teen speaks about his struggles to perform everyday tasks due to violence in his neighborhood. He goes on to explain that once he was apart of the gang "Cuarto Flats" he never feared walking home from school again. Its situations like this that help su understand why exactly people join gangs. Because "social instiutions.....law enforcement" have broken down residents seek other means of protection.
Being in a gang is a means of protection, and although their are negativites that are associated with the "gang" to thoes involve it is a family. The article explains that usually gangs are found in areas where residents are poverty, lack unemployment ,education and the family dynamic. This is a perfect example as to why people become part of gangs not only for protection but for a sense of belonging to something bigger other than themselves.

The Edge and The Center-Setha Low

"The Edge and the Center" Gated Communities and the Discourse of Urban Fear

Thesis: Due to violence and crime gated communities have become a new phenomena in the urban structure.

"The Edge and the Center" is an article that speaks about how some city dwellers are now enclosing themselves in a community that restricts access to the uninvited due to fear. Seth Low compares and contrast two gated communities in San Antonio,Texas and Queens, New York. He explains how the diversity in these towns has caused fear in some residents. Therefore they move into this specialized communities that are "enclosed by five to six foot masonry walls broken only by the entry gates and monitored in person (New York) or by video camera from a central guard house (San Antonio)." (Low pg.134)

The question is why are people moving to the city and then into these gated communities. According to Low the people who are moving into these gated communites are " upper-middle class" The people are moving to these communities because the seek "sameness" and they are concerned about conflict in their neighborhoods they are moving out of. " I first gained entrance to a number of homes located within a locked, gated and walled community on the outskirts of the city and found young, white, middle class teenagers discussing their fear of "Mexicans" who live nearby." (Low 133) The article goes on to examine each of the communities one in New York and the other in San Antonio. He explains how difficult it was to gain access to the communities and even harder to reach the residents. When Setha Low was able to interview residents some of their main reasons for moving into gated communities was that they were trying to escape crime, and the changes in the community.

I think that the whole idea of gated communites is a way to isolate thoes with money from those without money. Living in a society where having money can create a divison between people it is no surprise that the wealthy are seeking to isolate themselves from the rest of the group. And although crime does exist in the city, I dont think that it is a reason to put yourself in such a secluded situation. Some of these communities have ameneities that will create a situation where the residents never leave the community. And in my opinnion if crime was to happen it could also happene inside a gated community because acts of crime are not only comitted by the less fortunate but for other reasons as well.

Student Fieldworkers in Village and City

"Student Fieldworkers in Village and City" by George Gmelch and Sharon Bohn Gmelch

Thesis: " In all field research, no matter where it takes place, anthropologists must draw on their social and interpersonal skills to gain the cooperation of the local people." (Gmelch pg.86)

This article effectively compares and contrasts the differences of doing fieldwork in the city vs the country. It talks about the obstacles that the students who were placed in Tasmania faced. Some of these obstacles were "tracking down potential research subject", and their inability to connect with the residents of the city. The students that were placed in Hobart focused their research on subcultures. While the students that were placed in the villages of Barbados were able to engage in a different approach to their research, some of these included "participant-observation research. The students that were placed in the village were able to have a more personal experience with the villagers. Instead of conducting interviews they were able to collect their information by simply hanging out with the inhabitants.

Moreover, the students that were placed in Barbados had extensive field notes and journal entries,while students that were placed in Hobart had difficulty producing these documents. Some of the advantages to being placed in the city was the exposure that the students were subjected to. Students placed in the city were able to experience the culture by way of museums and theaters. Therefore the students in the city in contrast to the students in the village was the lack of downtime. And although this prevented the students from collecting field notes and other documents they were able to experience the culture rather than report about it. In this way the research was more of a first hand account rather than a second hand account.

The article also speaks about how each setting affects the students lives. While living in a rural setting was benefical for ethnographic research and the city proved to be difficult. Both settings equally came with reservations. Students had to adjust to living in a new setting and be able to complete their research.

"Student Fieldworkers in Village and City" is my favorite article by far, because it displays the obstacles of doing fieldwork in the village as well as the city. It also shows obstacles of conducting research in a foriegn country. Another,point that arises in the article is the differences of Urban and Rural research. Defining research terms based upon the setting is beneficial to learning to conduct ethnographic research. By understanding the research parameters I am able to plan my approach to my research project.

Anthropological Fieldwork in Cities

“Anthropological Fieldwork in Cities.” George M. Foster and Robert V.Kemper.

Thesis Statement: Traditional Anthropology studies people in their natural habitat and that natural habitat were those of native indians and peasants. By forming close relationships with their subjects Anthropologist were able to study the culture and ways of life. However, Urban Anthropology uses the same method of forming close relationships, now it is just being done in a different habitat, that being the city.

Summary:

The article written by George M. Foster and Robert V. Kemper is a historical analysis of the study of Anthropology. It discusses the evolution of Anthropology as it relates to the methods used and the types of people that were analyzed. In the past Anthropologist studied people in a rural setting. “ anthropologist relied upon the descriptions of native life published by missionaries, colonial administrators and travelers.”( Foster and Kemper 6) As the study of Anthropology evolved different techniques of collecting data on the subjects began to change. The article explains how anthropologist began to use different methods of collecting data. Although this collection of data was somewhat “primitive” the practice of relying on second hand accounts changed to just including a small number of people. Anthropologist shifted their focus from second hand account of missionaries and travelers to the distant memories of the cultures oldest inhabitants.

The ideology of Malinowski changed the way Anthropologist collected data in their field work. His theory was simple “ live with the people, learn their language, observe their activities, question, speculate, theorize.” (Foster and Kemper pg.8) This way of collecting data impacted the science of Anthropology. It was not until after the war that the United States cultivated this way of researching. While the methods of collecting data evolved so did the resources available to anthropologist. The advancement in technology and travel aided researchers in their efforts to study people. In the past researches were subjected to a smaller area and for short periods of time. Advancements in technology such as air travel and the development of antibiotics allowed researches to travel to different areas of the country, It was at this time in the United States that researchers turned away from a diminishing Indian population to peasants of Latina America, Asia and Africa. The study of peasants would also evolve, as peasants who inhabited rural areas began to migrate to budding civic areas, thus creating the birth of Urban Anthropology.

With the birth of Urban Anthropology came some more changes in the way researches study a give group of people. Because cities are so vast Anthropologist began to shy away from traditional ways of collecting data. Instead of living with the people and investigating individuals the idea of grouping people with a common lifestyle became more sufficient.

It is my belief that grouping people based on their common way of life is a better way of studying people that live in a civic area. This is primarily because more individuals of the same race inhabit cities. However, their location,religion or common beliefs is what tends to group people when the live in cities not their nationality. For example African Americans are all

of Africa however differences in social class or employment can change their behavior and outlook on life.

"Networks,Neighborhoods,and Markets" Thedore Bestor

“Networks, Neighborhoods and Markets” Theodore Bestor

Thesis: The idea of studying a particular neighborhood according to Bestor is to first be inquistive and then become an observer.

Summary: “Networks, Neighborhoods and Markets by Theodore Bestor is a vivid description of his studies in Tokyo, Japan. Bestor explains his theory in fieldwork “inquisitive to observer.” (Bestor 21). Throughout the article Bestor remains true to this method of conducting ethnographic research. When he first arrives in Japan he has an idea of how he would study the culture of Miyamoto-cho. First examining the culture of the people and then moving on to the neighborhood as a whole, “ the subculture and lifestyle by which Tokyoites distinguish themselves.” (Bestor 21). When he first arrived Bestor focused in on how “old middle class families the proprietors of small, family run buisnesses participated in creating or maintaining local community life...and sustain themselves in a highly urbanized environment.” (Bestor 22). He does this by connecting with people on a personal level. Bestor states “ I meet people through introductions from people I know myself, through causal local interactions as well as through actively participating in any event i can legitimately get access.” (pg 24.) This technique is found through out the article.

Later when he goes on to study the Tsukiji marketplace Bestor uses this same technique as a guideline to learn the inner workings of the largest seafood market in Tokyo, he also uses the technique known as “parachuting”, or dropping in from multiple entry points. He uses a connection that he has in New York to ultimately set him up with one of the senior administrators Mr. Shimizu. Mr. Shimizu introduces Bestor to many of the higher officials in the seafood marketplace.He also uses connections that he had from previous research projects. Through doing this he is able to experience the Market for what it is. He is able to learn the people by making connections and by looking at every aspect of their culture, their dress, their speech and their overall way of life.

I simply admire Bestor for his approach to his research, because it is very important for one to understand that when you are studying humans you have to remember that they are not subjects. You have to be able to understand a culture as if you were living in it before you can research a problem or give a solution. Bestor sums this idea up perfectly in his article.

Ethnographic Report Summary.

The community that I have grown up in is what I choose to do my research on, simply because I want to shed light on the problems of the black community. The area I will be doing my research on specifically is two housing projects of Jamaica, Queens, that being Baisley Houses, and South Jamaica Houses. By doing research on these two communities I want to discover similarities in how the inhabitants think, dress, relate to each other and their perceptions of society. I want to uncover why it is common for people who live in developmental housing “projects” to embody certain stigmas. Those being drug and alcohol abuse, crime, teenage pregnancy and scandal, under education and poverty. I choose this community based upon the inhabitants socioeconomic status. Rapper Biggie Smalls said it best “you either slinging crack rock or got a wicked jump shot.” Based on initial observation of the housing complexes most of the residents are under privileged individuals with common beliefs and values.