Gang Leader For Day
Gang Paper
The author of “Gang Leader for a Day”, Sudhir Vankatesh, delivers an intimate look into a world most people would prefer to ignore. In the book, the graduate student formed a friendship with a local gang leader and was able to get the inside information of the gang’s role in the Chicago housing projects. ABC’s 60 Minutes and National Geographic have made outstanding videos describing in great detail, gang life. Girls in the Hood, by ABC, informs that the notion of only males in gangs is false; that there are strong female leaders that are much involved in the gang as much as males. “Maximum Security”, by 60 Minutes, informs the audience about how gang leaders turned Pelican Bay, a prison fortress, into their own head courters of criminal activity. “World most Dangerous Gang”, by National Geographic, describes how important it is to deal with violent gangs and not make the same mistake twice.
Sudhir Vankatesh is a brave sociologist who wanted to live the life of the very thing he studied. In 1989, Vankatesh was a graduate student from University of Chicago and for his research he had come to spend time with the Black King gang. The author stayed in the Robert Taylor housing project which was next to the university; although, the staff of the university made it clear that these areas were places to be avoided. He started to attend seminars that analyzed typical sociological enquiries which he felt did not portray an accurate sociological prospective of the people who lived in the projects. He liked the questions the researchers were asking, but compared them with the vibrant life he saw on the streets of Chicago, the discussion of these seminars seemed cold and distant.
The author decided to go with the direct approach in which he had a firsthand experience in his research, instead of a more common approach of using surveys and questionnaires. The biggest reason why Vankatesh did not want to base his research on surveys is because their validity is
The author of “Gang Leader for a Day”, Sudhir Vankatesh, delivers an intimate look into a world most people would prefer to ignore. In the book, the graduate student formed a friendship with a local gang leader and was able to get the inside information of the gang’s role in the Chicago housing projects. ABC’s 60 Minutes and National Geographic have made outstanding videos describing in great detail, gang life. Girls in the Hood, by ABC, informs that the notion of only males in gangs is false; that there are strong female leaders that are much involved in the gang as much as males. “Maximum Security”, by 60 Minutes, informs the audience about how gang leaders turned Pelican Bay, a prison fortress, into their own head courters of criminal activity. “World most Dangerous Gang”, by National Geographic, describes how important it is to deal with violent gangs and not make the same mistake twice.
Sudhir Vankatesh is a brave sociologist who wanted to live the life of the very thing he studied. In 1989, Vankatesh was a graduate student from University of Chicago and for his research he had come to spend time with the Black King gang. The author stayed in the Robert Taylor housing project which was next to the university; although, the staff of the university made it clear that these areas were places to be avoided. He started to attend seminars that analyzed typical sociological enquiries which he felt did not portray an accurate sociological prospective of the people who lived in the projects. He liked the questions the researchers were asking, but compared them with the vibrant life he saw on the streets of Chicago, the discussion of these seminars seemed cold and distant.
The author decided to go with the direct approach in which he had a firsthand experience in his research, instead of a more common approach of using surveys and questionnaires. The biggest reason why Vankatesh did not want to base his research on surveys is because their validity is