Comments on: Review: Gang Leader for a Day

By: Monica Torres

Monica Torres — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:55:52 +0000

Sudhir definitively, passed initiation test, initiation to prove his tough sociological reasons to get his surveys and effectively make a book.

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 00:10:48 +0000

COS Giants 360: I gould agree – I think there’s a tricky balance between understand gang impact and glamorizing what the gang does. It’s hard for me to say exactly how well Venkatesh does this, but he certainly tries to.

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 00:08:09 +0000

COS Giants 360: You make a good point – his research starts to be impacted by his subjects, and he starts to impact the research.

By: COS Giants 360

COS Giants 360 — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 21:19:17 +0000

In discussions of Venkatesh’s Gang Leader for a Day, one controversial issue has been how the gang is portrayed. On the one hand, Jane Dailey of the Chicago Tribune argues that Venkatesh romanticizes the gang activity. On the other hand, both you and Jeanne seem to say Venkatesh opens people’s eyes to the inner workings and organization of gang activity, including the benefits. Our own view is that he walks a thin line, trying to be accurate with his descriptions.

By: COS Giants 360

COS Giants 360 — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 21:08:23 +0000

One implication of Venkatesh’s research is that he starts to become more active in the lives of the Robert Taylor residents. So overall, we too agree with you Kim and Kathy.

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 01:13:35 +0000

Ed: I agree – it was interesting to see the way a drug culture emerged in the neighborhood and how it impacted the residents. A lot of that was very sad.

By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:50:29 +0000

I thought this one was just amazing. An honest look at the effects of drug prohibition. Why can’t we admit it’s the same mistake that alcohol prohibition was?

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:13:46 +0000

Anna: That part was hard to read. At points, I just wanted to smack him over the head because he was being so naive about issues that could get people in a lot of trouble.

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:12:45 +0000

Aarti: Sure, I’m glad it was interesting! And I definitely see your point — I like books that give some sort of action step at the end. I can’t remember if this book has one explicitly or not, but I think the implicit implication is that it’s important not to generalize about people’s situations too much or automatically assume anything about the people you meet. And that society as a whole needs a more open discussion about how to deal with problems that come up in these neighborhoods, maybe even working with gang leaders to create someplace safer for everyone.

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:10:55 +0000

softdrink: Yeah, he is a sort of rockstar of the sociology world. And his research lends itself to that sort of bad-ass persona, I suppose. I hope he’s given back, although I didn’t do much research to look into that question. He owes them a lot.