Topic > Comparative Approaches: Owning the Sidewalk and Searching for Paradise

My first contact with the discipline of social science in academia consisted of an introductory course in biological anthropology. The topic was approached according to what I initially thought was an impenetrable logic of scientific information. This mindset ultimately led to failure when I took cultural anthropology courses based on theory and original ideas. Personally, I was not prepared to interpret ethnographic pieces, let alone the criticism associated with them. It was incredibly difficult to determine what I believed was correct, since I had no experience forming my own opinions. The only way to improve this was to gain exposure to ethnographic work and begin to interpret it within my framework. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay After reading a few comprehensive ethnographies, it became easier to see patterns emerging across the various topics covered in the pieces. For example, Owners of the Sidewalk and In Search of Paradise expose a dynamic theme of how an ethnographer is able to access their topics, subjects, and elements in the field. The amount and type of access the ethnographer is able to gain into their intended research topics, including the areas and people involved, ultimately frames their final work. How the researcher tries to compensate for the lack of access may also be related to the type of criticism the ethnographer may receive. After finishing Owners of the Sidewalk, I felt like I knew Daniel Goldstein intimately. Her writing is reminiscent of the work of Alice Goffman in that a few pieces are needed to form a coherent and exciting story. Goffman's work is highly contested due to her perceptions of the field and her presentation of the work, as readers argue that her perspective, that of being a white woman in a black community, especially a group of black men, cannot accurately represent everyday life. life there. Goldstein's work Owners of the Sidewalk may raise similar concerns because she appears to completely ignore the realm of Cancha women in her work. Goldstein delves into his connections and primary informant in the "Nacho" chapter consisting of pages 25 to 32 of Owners of the Sidewalk. the sidewalk. Goldstein is able to gain an access point to his research in the Cancha by collaborating with Nacho, who can access Quechua-speaking populations. Nacho is also generally more approachable than Goldstein because he is originally from the area and has a personality that makes up for it in the areas that Goldstein lacks. This access point ultimately frames her work by making it male-centric because her main access point is through a male informant while Goldstein himself is also male. The chapter entitled “Meet the Press,” which covers pages 42 to 45, shows how much Goldstein's entire ethnography depends on two men, Don Rafo and Don Silvio. These two men become the two main characters of Owners of the Sidewalk. His first point of entry is his sex. Since he is male, he has access to men because he is included in this group. This isn't an entirely deep level of entry, so look for the male leader of the Fijos, Don Rafo. In chapter 7 he explains that his access to Don Silvio (a contrasting character and perspective) occurs almost by “accident”. Don Silvio's meeting is certainly not an accident, because Don Rafo had asked him to come to the square while he was addressing the press. It is during this event that.