Street Corner Society: The Social Structure of an Italian Slum
- Book Review,
by William Foote Whyte
From Book News, Inc.
<:;st> New edition of a classic study of Italian-American gangs first published in 1943 (and last in 1981). Endorsed by BCL3. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
Book Description
Street Corner Society is one of a handful of works that can justifiably be called classics of sociological research. William Foote Whyte's account of the Italian American slum he called "Cornerville"--Boston's North End--has been the model for urban ethnography for fifty years.
By mapping the intricate social worlds of street gangs and "corner boys," Whyte was among the first to demonstrate that a poor community need not be socially disorganized. His writing set a standard for vivid portrayals of real people in real situations. And his frank discussion of his methodology--participant observation--has served as an essential casebook in field research for generations of students and scholars.
This fiftieth anniversary edition includes a new preface and revisions to the methodological appendix. In a new section on the book's legacy, Whyte responds to recent challenges to the validity, interpretation, and uses of his data. "The Whyte Impact on the Underdog," the moving statement by a gang leader who became the author's first research assistant, is preserved.
"Street Corner Society broke new ground and set a standard for field research in American cities that remains a source of intellectual challenge."--Robert Washington, Reviews in Anthropology
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