Urban ethnography is the firsthand study of city life by investigators who immerse themselves in the worlds of the people about whom they write. Since its inception in the early twentieth century, this great tradition has helped define how we think about cities and city dwellers.The past few decades have seen an extraordinary revival in the field, as scholars and the public at large grapple with the increasingly complex and pressing issues that affect the ever-changing American city-from poverty to the immigrant experience, the changing nature of social bonds to mass incarceration, hyper-segregation to gentrification. As both a method of research and a form of literature, urban ethnography has seen a notable and important resurgence.This renewed interest demands a clear and comprehensive understanding of the history and development of the field to which this volume contributes by presenting a selection of past and present contributions to American urban ethnographic writing. Beginning with an original introduction highlighting the origins, practices, and significance of the field, editors Mitchell Duneier, Philip Kasinitz, and Alexandra Murphy guide the reader through the major and fascinating topics on which it has focused -- from the community, public spaces, family, education, work, and recreation, to social policy, and the relationship between ethnographers and their subjects.An indispensable guide, The Urban Ethnography Reader provides an overview of how the discipline has grown and developed while offering students and scholars a selection of some of the finest social scientific writing on the life of the modern city.

AN INTRODUCTION TO URBAN ETHNOGRAPHYMitchell Duneier, Philip Kasinitz and Alexandra K. MurphyPART 1. FINDING COMMUNITY IN THE MODERN CITYINTRODUCTION1 CHINATOWNJacob Riis2 SOCIAL CLASSES AND AMUSEMENTSW.E.B. Du Bois3 LOWER CLASS: SEX AND FAMILYSt. Clair Drake and Horace Cayton4 LIFE STYLESUlf Hannerz5 PATTERNS OF BLACK-WHITE INTERACTIONHarvey Molotch6 NO FRIENDSJohn Jackson7 IN TUCUANI, HE GOES CRAZYRobert Smith8 GRIT AND GLAMOURRichard Lloyd9 NEIGHBORHOOD SYMBIOSISAndrew DeenerPART 2. SOCIAL WORLDS, PUBLIC SPACESINTRODUCTION10 PATTERNS OF COLLECTIVE ACTIONLaud Humphreys11 THE TERRITORIAL IMPERATIVEJames Spradley and Brenda Mann12 THE BLACK MALE IN PUBLICElijah Anderson13 EMPOWERING THE 'GAZE:' PERSONAL STEREOS AND THE HIDDEN LOOKMichael Bull14 PISSED OFF IN L.A.Jack Katz15 FEEDING THE PIGEONS: SIDEWALK SOCIABILITY IN GREENWICH VILLAGEColin JerolmackPART 3. RAISING A FAMILYINTRODUCTION16 KINSHIP AND COMMUNITYMichael Young and Peter Willmott17 SWAPPINGCarol Stack18 GROWING UP IN GROVELANDMary Patillo-McCoy19 TOWANDA: MAKING SENSE OF EARLY MOTHERHOOD IN WEST BALTIMOREPatricia Fernandez-Kelly20 CHILDREN AND POWER DURING SEPARATIONJoanna DrebyPART 4. SCHOOLING AND THE CULTURE OF CONTROLINTRODUCTION21 ELEMENTS OF A CULTUREPaul Willis22 LEVELED ASPIRATIONS: SOCIAL REPRODUCTION TAKES ITS TOLLJay MacLeod23 INSTITUTING THE CULTURE OF CONTROL: DISCIPLINARY PRACTICES AND ORDER MAINTENANCEKathleen Nolan24 THE LABELLING HYPE: COMING OF AGE IN THE ERA OF MASS INCARCERATIONVictor RiosPART 5. GETTING PAIDINTRODUCTION25 'GETTING BY' IN HOBOHEMIANels Anderson26 THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE TAXI-DANCERPaul Cressey27 THE LAUNDRYMAN's SOCIAL WORLDPaul Siu28 MEN AND JOBSElliott Liebow29 NO SHAME IN (THIS) GAMEKatherine Newman30 SERVING TIMEPeter Bearman31 MOBILITY FOR THE NONMOBILE: CELL PHONE, TECHNOLOGY, AND CHILDCARETamara Mose Brown32 GETTING THE SHITRandol ContrerasPART 6. PLAYING TOGETHER: THE SERIOUS SIDE OF RECREATION AND LEISUREINTRODUCTION33 BOWLING AND SOCIAL RANKINGWilliam Foote Whyte34 THE PROFESSIONAL DANCE MUSICIAN AND HIS AUDIENCEHoward Becker35 WELCOME TO STUDIO 104 & PITIFUL PRELIMINARIESLo?c Wacquant36 THE CLUBHOUSE AND CLASS CULTURESSherri Grasmuck37 RACE-ING MEN: BOYS, RISK, AND THE POLITICS OF RACEAmy Best38 CRACKING THE CODE: RACE, CLASS, AND ACCESS TO NIGHTCLUBS IN URBAN AMERICAReuben Buford May and Kenneth Sean Chaplin39 WINNING THE BAR: NIGHTLIFE AS A SPORTING RITUALDavid Grazian40 BATTLIN' ON THE CORNER: TECHNIQUES FOR SUSTAINING PLAYJooyoung LeePART 7. 'BUT DOES IT HAVE A POINT?' ETHNOGRAPHY & SOCIAL POLICYINTRODUCTION41 THE DESTRUCTION OF BOSTON'S WEST ENDHerbert Gans42 WORKING THE DEUCEWilliam Kornblum43 LETTER FROM A CRACKHOUSETerry Williams44 WELFAREKathryn Edin and Christopher Jencks45 MISSING THE CONNECTION: SOCIAL ISOLATION AND EMPLOYMENT ON THE BROOKLYN WATERFRONTPhilip Kasinitz and Jan Rosenberg46 ON THE RUN: WANTED MEN IN A PHILADELPHIA GHETTOAlice GoffmanPART 8. ETHNOGRAPHERS & THEIR SUBJECTSINTRODUCTION47 SO WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US HERE?Barbara Myerhoff48 VIOLATING APARTHEID IN THE UNITED STATESPhilippe Bourgois49 AFTERWORDHakim Hasan50 THE HUSTLER AND THE HUSTLEDSudhir Venkatesh51 REFLECTIONS ON LONGITUDINAL ETHNOGRAPHY AND THE FAMILIESAnnette LareauCREDITSINDEX