Annotated Bibliography " Sudhir Venkatesh"
English 102
March 23, 2010
Annotated Bibliography
Introduction: In Gang Leader for a Day, the author Sudhir Venkatesh has introduced himself to the culture of the Robert Taylor Homes of Chicago. In this experience Venkatesh meets his primary informant J.T. who shows Sudhir how the community operates. Sudhir is an ethnographer who is conducting qualitative research on the community that makes up the Robert Taylor Homes. J.T. is one of the many primary leaders for the Black Kings who has taken in Sudhir knowing his purpose for hanging around a treacherous community as an outsider. Venkatesh has spent several years in conducting research of the community and interviews of the residents.
The process in which the ethnographer collects their information can be done in numerous ways. Some concerns do arise when looking at the how the researcher does interact with the subjects of the study. A particular concern that does come to mind is; how close is to close for the ethnographer? At what extent has the researcher gone beyond the legal limits of obtaining information? For example with Venkatesh in Gang Leader for a Day is it to far when Sudhir rides along while his key informant is conducting gang activity?
Currently in Ethnography it is hard to define the way an ethnographer is supposed to interact with their subjects in their fieldwork process. Many ethnographers are expanding on the way they interact with individuals in who can provide information on the subject at hand. Currently ethnography’s primary means of collecting information is still done through participant observation and conducting key informant interviews. Which still gives a generous deal of information to the researcher but another way to become informed of a culture is becoming immersed into their world. For an ethnographer to do this they may need to feel like they fit in, start doing activities that the ones being researched take part in. Also the researcher may change the way they
March 23, 2010
Annotated Bibliography
Introduction: In Gang Leader for a Day, the author Sudhir Venkatesh has introduced himself to the culture of the Robert Taylor Homes of Chicago. In this experience Venkatesh meets his primary informant J.T. who shows Sudhir how the community operates. Sudhir is an ethnographer who is conducting qualitative research on the community that makes up the Robert Taylor Homes. J.T. is one of the many primary leaders for the Black Kings who has taken in Sudhir knowing his purpose for hanging around a treacherous community as an outsider. Venkatesh has spent several years in conducting research of the community and interviews of the residents.
The process in which the ethnographer collects their information can be done in numerous ways. Some concerns do arise when looking at the how the researcher does interact with the subjects of the study. A particular concern that does come to mind is; how close is to close for the ethnographer? At what extent has the researcher gone beyond the legal limits of obtaining information? For example with Venkatesh in Gang Leader for a Day is it to far when Sudhir rides along while his key informant is conducting gang activity?
Currently in Ethnography it is hard to define the way an ethnographer is supposed to interact with their subjects in their fieldwork process. Many ethnographers are expanding on the way they interact with individuals in who can provide information on the subject at hand. Currently ethnography’s primary means of collecting information is still done through participant observation and conducting key informant interviews. Which still gives a generous deal of information to the researcher but another way to become informed of a culture is becoming immersed into their world. For an ethnographer to do this they may need to feel like they fit in, start doing activities that the ones being researched take part in. Also the researcher may change the way they
Bibliography: Davidson, Julia O 'Connell. "If no means no, does yes mean yes? Consenting to research intimacies." History of the Human Sciences 21.4 (2008): 49-67. SocINDEX with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. Emerson, Robert M. "Ethnography, interaction and ordinary trouble." Ethnography 10.4 (2009): 535-548. SocINDEX with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. Gans, Herbert J. "Participant Observation in the Era of `Ethnography '." Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 28.5 (1999): 540. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. Irwin, Katherine. "Into the Dark Heart of Ethnography: The Lived Ethics and Inequality of Intimate Field Relationships." Qualitative Sociology 29.2 (2006): 155-175. SocINDEX with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 16 Feb. 2010. Lumsden, Karen Short, James F. Jr, and Hughes Lorine A. "Urban ethnography and research integrity: Empirical and theoretical dimensions." Ethnography 10.4 (2009): 397-415. SocINDEX with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 1 Mar. 2010.