"The Culture Of Poverty"

Oscar Lewis, describes the meaning of the term "Culture Of Poverty" he refers to poverty as not a lack of wealth but lacking the behavioral and personality traits. He states how poverty can be passed down from generation to generation. People has two different views of the poor, one as them being "violent, evil, and criminal". Second, being as "blessed, happy, and kind". These two views are not factual but more stereotypical. People view the poor as criminal because they assume since they have no money they are going to steal it from others who are fortunate. While as the kind poor people they are happy and kind due to their non-greed actions toward their work. They take family and friends into consideration as long as they are surviving they are satisfied, in other words they wont reach higher to the next level in success because they are adapted to where they are now in the situation. As read in the article poverty happens in societies with high rates of unemployment, production for high profit, and wage labor. Also relies on the lack of education and literacy.

Transportation in Sao Paulo (Pardue)

Derek Pardue, contemplates on the City of Sao Paulo and it's transportation. Of how you can determine a person social class by what they ride for transportation. Whether a bus, train, or private ride are all factors that can be determine of a person's wealth or living. Pardue, conducts field-work interviews with two residents of Sao Paulo, who both take transportation not for what they can only afford but for their personal preference. One of them is a young boy named Robson, who comes from a middle to low class family. Who prefers to ride the bus than the train due to him wanting to experience the view of the City. The other informant named Edliane, who is a professional who had experienced taking the train and had a private driver, but enjoyed taking the subway than having being driven around; because of the Modern feel she gets when she see business people surrounded around the city. These two informants come from different social classes one poor and the other wealthy but both enjoy taking the subway, which leads to the moral of the article using the subway does not determine your social class because anyone can ride it whether poor or richhhh!

Low article on "Gated Communities"

Setha Low, compares the gated residential communities of San Antonio, Texas and Queens, New York. Who uncovers the fear that causes people to move farther from Urban areas. Low, who has done participant-observation on residents of New York and Texas which ranged from 27-75 mostly all agreed to the reason why to moving to a gated community was for "search for a sense of safety and security". They feel safer and more secure with gates, walls, and guards, which are all factors of a gated community. Though all residents who Low, has interviewed had the same thoughts of fear to moving to a gated community; residents in New York vs. Texas mention different aspects of fear. In New York, they fear of Urban crime. While as in Texas, residents fear of kidnapping and illegal Mexican workers. One interviewer specifically name Felicia, believes that it's a false sense of safety because anyone can jump the gate, or the guard may fall asleep. Which i can totally agree on; crime can occur in any place whether gated or not!

"Urban Danger" by Merry

   Merry, reflects back on Wirth's article on how the city is a place of disorder with strangers who just live in it. Wirth, argues that "the ecological conditions of size, density, permanency, and heterogeneity create a social world of impersonal, superficial, transitory relationships in which individuals are detached from close ties to social groups such as families, and are freed from the social group". Many studies have been done on the social life of cities ever since Wirth's article has been published. Some researchers agree with his theory, and some do not. Merry has taken it upon herself to conduct a cultural study of Urban danger. She has moved in a couple blocks away of a subsidized housing project located deep in a neighborhood with one of the highest crime rates in a major northeastern city. The housing contained 300 Whites, blacks, spanish, and chinese people. With one year of research conduct on the housing residents she has managed to find out that the residents of different races did not socialize with one another, but with their race only. Despite them sharing the same housing with stoop, land and all they refuse to socialize with one another guess because they do not feel comfortable unless is with their own people.

"Urbanism As A Way Of Life" by Wirth

    Louis Wirth, contrasts "the urban" with "the rural". He views the city as being heterogenous individuals. Heterogenous, as in being different in kind; the studies of the differences between the rural and Urban mode of living. He states an important factor of the article in which how the shift from a rural to a urban society, which has taken place within the span of a single generation in such industrialized areas as the United States, and Japan, has been accompanied by profound changes in virtually every phase of social life. He states how "It is these changes and their ramifications that invite the attention of the sociologist to the study of the differences between the rural and the urban mode of living" (102). Urbanization is a mode of life containing all of the people's need such as transportation, metropolitan centers, theaters, libraries, museums, etc. All people; with different cultures, and ethnic groups who all enjoy the same qualities and needs.

Do you think the city is dangerous?

In continuation to Do you think the city is dangerous? i forgot to mention that i have experienced a robbery in my house. It was one of the worst experiences ever. I came home with my family to a disastrous house with missing valuable items. With that being said i think the city is definitely dangerous!.

Gmelch And Gmelch (Pg 82-96)

Field school students, have been hands-on experiencing the rural and city settings. Their field schools were  based on the rural areas in Ireland, and then throughout the 1960's and 90's in Barbados.Unfortunately; the hands on program has moved to urban Australia from the rural Barbados. It has shifted from village setting to city. Reasons to their moving was because residents Barbados villagers weren't around as much due to them commuting to jobs in the Capital city.(Pg 83) With fewer residents, the students can not interview them to extract information. From studying village ethnography, today they practice Urban Anthropology, doing fieldwork on variety of topics in the city. Moving to the students has made clear the differences between rural and urban fieldwork. The differences between Barbados: a village, and Tasmania; a suburb neighborhood. Students have experienced similarities and differences in village fieldwork vs city fieldwork. They find city fieldwork much more difficult than village. The people in villages were friendly, welcoming, and united; while as the people in the city seemed like strangers. The students couldn't approach them without explaining to them who are they and why are they doing this. The Rural vs. Urban: students who have researched in the villages did more "participent observation" than in the city. In the city the way students conducted the interviewers were to use formal interview. With such overwhelm of the different cultures and ways of approaching people they also challenged in adapting themselves to the environment they were researching. When coming to a new environment, people, and setting they felt intimidated. I feel as if being a Anthropologist is beneficial and helpful but at times difficult and challenging.

Foster And Kemper (Pg 5-19)

 Anthropology, the scientific study of the origin, behavior, and the physical, social and cultural development. In Fieldwork In Cities; discusses how the study of Anthropology has evolved throughout the years. According to Foster and Kemper, by the 1920's sociologists were doing research in American cities. After World War 2, the anthropological research has shifted on the city life and urbanization which developed throughout the 1960's and 1970's. They were no longer researching on villages and tribes but on large cities to gather more data and information. To do their research and gathering they utilize a pencil, and a stenographer's notebook which is also used in the court system. They also have come to a new method on interviewing people on how to extract as much information as possible from them by using the "Participent observation" which is to gain a close and intimate familiarity with a given group of individuals. This research method is often called fieldwork where they travel to their houses to live with them, eat, and monetarize every single activity they get into so they can get to know more about the family. Most Anthropologists have been accused of being a CIA agent, a Protestant missionary, a social worker, a tax collector, or even a misguided tourist.(13) I would think the same as well; thinking who are you to ask me these questions what do you care, ARE YOU A COP!

Do you think the city is dangerous?

                       According to Wirth, cities have a way of influencing the people's behavior's and actions. He stated that in cities, people are guarded, not trusting  and are selfish. They dont have the time to interact with other's or even care too. When forming friendships according to Wirth is to get something out of it. Not all cities have the same interaction each one has different ways of behaviors, it is the culture and tradition that influences the person's actions as Wirth stated in the article. For example, back home where i am from the Dominican Republic, there is a different way of interacting and socializing with people and there is also a different environment where you feel safe.

                      I do not feel safe in NYC due to a high rate of crimes, terroism,  and sexual predators. i tend to agree with Wirth where he explains how people in cities have to keep a guard up and cant trust anyone. For instance when i take the train to commute to school i just keep to myself listening to my music and have no tendency in starting a conversation with someone i do not know, i do not know if that person is a terroist plotting to surrender the train or something. In the NYC environment you are influenced to act this way to not trust anyone.