Sudhir Venkatesh Gang Leader Summary

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Sudhir Venkatesh's Gang Leader for a Day provides readers with an in depth understanding of life for the poverty stricken in 1980s Chicago, Illinois. More specifically, Venkatesh's research focuses on African-Americans living in the Robert Taylor public housing units, which were notorious for gang activity and general onslaught of crime. Despite the clear picture Venkatesh is able to exhibit by throwing himself into this alien world, the information he garnered was not acquired without fault. Since the publication of his research, Venkatesh's research methods have been scrutinized for negligence and naivety from academics and casual readers alike.

Venkatesh's research began rather intimately; he focused on individuals and the stories they had to tell. Ultimately, Venkatesh's objective grew as he strove to encapsulate the Robert Taylor Homes as a whole, as opposed to given tenants. It is in this instance that Venkatesh's research methods took an unethical turn. Venkatesh initially walked into the projects with a clear cut plan, boasting surveys with …show more content…

Bailey. At the point that this situation occurs, Venkatesh has gained substantial trust at Robert Taylor. However, when it was learned that he had shared this private information, that trust was quickly revoked. As it was, JT and Ms. Bailey were already extorting as much money as they could from tenants doing 'under the table' work in Robert Taylor - IE: prostitution, hair styling, day care, etcetera. When an essential master list of everyone making money in Robert Taylor was provided to them, an opportunity arose for them to make even more money off of everyone they were unaware was working out of their homes. Naturally, this blatant breach of confidentiality and trust was quickly traced back to

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