On the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, there is a shantytown called Villa Inflamable that is home to many people and a variety of large companies. This community and its relationships with its environment, local companies, and local governments are examined in the ethnography Flammable: Environmental Suffering in an Argentine Shantytown by Javier Auyero and Débora Alejandra Swistun. Auyero, an American professor of sociology, and Swistun, an anthropologist and native of Flammable, used two and a half years of field work to compile a comprehensive view of the historical and current, polluted state of the community. Throughout the book, the authors examine the effects of high levels of pollution on the inhabitants of Flammable and their ability to act on their own behalf. Auyero and Swistun view the neighborhood as a “potential site of collective mobilization against environmental suffering” because the area is clearly polluted and companies in the area may be to blame. In reality, however, the inhabitants of Flammable are dominated by the structures around them. Although they display certain methods of agency, the structural domination dictates how they act and how they view their own surroundings and community.
To help place the people of Flammable on the spectrum from agency, direct agency—individuals working to make their situations better themselves—needs to be considered. Auyero and Swistun notice that the inhabitants of Flammable have acted as agents to attempt to better their situation in a case involving the installation of high-voltage wires directly over the homes of some residents. The residents of these homes, and others, were concerned that the “electromagnetic field generated by the wires [would give] t...
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...n afford the testing for lead poisoning, many do not receive the test for fear of losing that support. The power and influence of Shell within the community discourages people from acting as agents for fear that Shell will either stop employing their families or stop providing medical care and other forms of aid.
The people of Flammable have limited agency within their community due to a variety of influences. Despite the possibility for direct agency when faced with an abrupt environment change, the use of indirect agents and the dominance of structures point to the residents’ dependence on external aid.
Works Cited
Auyero, Javier and Débora Alejandra Swistun. Flammable: Environmental Suffering in an Argentine Shantytown. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
"Symbolic Power/Symbolic Violence." In Key Concepts in Critical Social Theory. London: Sage UK, 2005.
Smeltertown existed as a smelting industry company-community and border town in El Paso, Texas. Through her own familial connection to Smeltertown, Monica Perales “traces the formation, evolution, demise, and collective memory of one of the largest single-industry Mexican-American communities on Mexican-US side of border.” Smeltertown, as a community, was was made up of several real and imagined social worlds that were constantly shaped by ASARCO. The community that was forged in Smeltertown served as a way of survival for its residents, allowing the influence from ASARCO to be lessened. Smeltertown tells the story of how its residents ordered their immediate socials.
In the short story, “Ashes for the Wind,” the main characters, Juan and Carmen, are faced with having their home, along with their community destroyed. The son of Simon Arevalo is confronted with the choice to burn down his community or to do his job, commissioned by the mayor. By staying in the burning house Juan and Carmen do their duty of protecting their child by giving them a quick death. Arevalo does his duty by allowing the burning of the houses by the police. Doing their duties, however, result in many wrongs done, the destruction of a community, and the deaths of an entire family.
“On one side we see men of some years disheartened and retired from productive exertion. On the other hand, we see places open for younger men” (“Political Economy of the Fire”). After the devastating fire, one hundred thousand people were left without a home.
This is why the Flint water crisis is so critical today. Because young children are being exposed to lead and they should actually be screened from the lead. The pipelines with lead in the water system and the whole community of Flint, not being able to drink water out of the facet as well as not being able to
Chavez Ravine was a self-sufficient and tight-knit community, a rare example of small town life within a large urban metropolis, but no matter how much the inhabitants loved thei...
In the Pulitzer prize-winning novel Evicted, sociologist Matthew Desmond follows eight families as he exposes how the lack of affordable housing perpetuates a state of poverty. He even goes so far as to assert that it is eviction that is a cause of poverty, not the other way around (Desmond 229). While this latter argument is as engrossing and it is striking, analyzing it with justice is simply not possible within the scope of this paper. Nevertheless, it is these two factors—inescapable poverty and eviction—that engender an unrelenting condition of financial, emotional, and communal instability, effectively hindering any chance of upward mobility.
There are currently 150 million Afro-descendants in Latin America who make up nearly 30 percent of the region’s population (Congressional Research Service, 2005). Out of the fifteen Latin American nations that have recently adapted some sort of multicultural reform, only three give recognize Afro-Latino communities and give them the same rights as indigenous groups (Hooker, 2005). Indigenous groups are more successful than afro-descendent groups in gaining collective rights and development aid from international NGO’s. Collective rights important because are closely related to land rights and can become a tool to fight descrimination .I will attempt to uncover the causes for the discrepancy. This study relies heavily on ethnographic research on post-colonial ideas of race in Latin America and I will attempt to connect race and power structures in environmental decision-making by interviews with national decision-makers, NGO representatives and both black and indigenous communities .
The individuals in Omelas attempt to forget who they oppress in order to maintain their perfect environment. The child of Omelas is stripped of its rights as a human and forced to live in gruesome conditions. “The floor is dirt, a little damp to the touch, as cellar dirt usually is. The room is about three paces long and two wide: a mere broom closet or disused tool room” (LeGuin 4) This child is pushed away from society. The people of Omelas understand that this goes on, but intend to do nothing about it. This concept is involuntary followed by not only the people of Omelas but people in the real world. Just like the residence of Omelas, we oppress factory/garment workers who are forced to live in harsh conditions and fight to keep our needs happy. In his short article, “California’s Garment Workers Reveal…” Davis goes out into the field to explore the conditions and neglect that garment workers face. Davis then interviews a woman who is the head of a labor advocacy group. “ imagine what that heat might feel like with no ventilation,’… Rough conditions—working 10 or more hours a day…baking-hot room…part of the job ” (Davis, Chris. "California 's Garment Workers Reveal: Sweatshops Aren 't Just a Problem Overseas." TakePart. N.p., n.d. Web.) These garment workers work endlessly to meet the needs that the big businesses set. Just like the outside entity that controls the rules set for the
is here that a certain element of the abandoned poor seeks a refuge out of
He incorporated views of the experts in the field like the associate professor in urban studies as well as the executive housing director serving Southern California. His strength as a journalist is showcased with the use of amazing storytelling. He presented the unique circumstances of the settlers that ended up in tent cities as opposed to giving generalizations. True to a great mark of responsible journalism is the ability to tell both sides of the story. This was evident in the phrase “if they are neglected, they will be lost to crime, addiction, and illness. Yet whenever officials act to destroy or stifle them with punitive regulations, they not only wipe out the pride of residence struggling to survive. They also jettison a spirit of self-reliance and innovation that could harness to help meet the housing needs of the future”. Furthermore, the readers are not swayed one way or the other towards the governing authority or the problems with unemployment.
In conclusion, lead is a very widespread poison that has been intertwined throughout the history of mankind. To prevent poisoning from this toxic substance, foods should be washed prior to cooking of eating. Hands, particularly those of young children, should be washed before meals (Harte et al. 1991). Flaking lead-based paint needs to be removed by a professional; intact lead paint on buildings should be maintained occasionally by painting over using lead-free coatings. Joggers and cyclists should exercise away from traffic and avoid peak driving hours (Harte et al. 1991). As a nation, strides are being made to lower contact with lead on day to day bases. On the other hand, countries around the world need to learn from history’s mistakes on lead usage; otherwise, they are just going to repeat the past.
LArge struggles, like fire destroying homes makes it difficult to det ahead in life for the Krachas. Even though the homes would be re-built, many people lost their belongings in the fire. Some get into better conditions, like Geor...
It is a melancholy object to those who travel through this great country to see isolated corners of this fair realm still devoted to protecting the environment. The wretched advocators of these ideals are frequently seen doling out petitions and begging at their neighbours’ doors to feed their obsession, which keeps them in the contemptible poverty that they so richly deserve.
After the flood, the landlord of Carrington Village inspects the vicinity. Lamming pays special attention to the reverence all of the villagers have for the inspector and he begins to highlight the role of the village overseer within the social hierarchy. The village overseers were tasked with “patrolling the lands at all hours of the day” (Lamming 26). George notes the “tense relationship between the overseer and the ordinary villager” (Lamming 26). When the landlord accuses “the overseers of conniving, of slackening on the job” the overseers crack down on the villagers in an “authoritarian” manner (Lamming 26). The landlord and the overseer believe that their “enemy” is what Lamming describes as “my people” (Lamming 27). The higher powers demonized black villagers and this stemmed from the subconscious belief that white people were superior to blacks. George Lamming sheds light on the fact that the overseer’s hostile disposition towards the villagers further perpetuated the stereotype that black villagers were “low-down nigger people [who]…don’t like to see their people get on”. The overseer nor the inspector ever made an effort to disprove their feelings toward black people so their experiences only reaffirmed their racist beliefs. Michael Hanchard’s article, “Contours of Black Political Thought: An
These poems convey life in third world slums, and the brutal, dangerous situations that people endure.