dramatic not lucid dream of Newark as zeitgeist of the American city

just awake from a dramatic dream.. explanatory although I hope not lucid (prophecy). a bricolage: the intricacies of families, generations, community ties, networks and individuals here in my building (the ethnography of 562 apartments approaching 60 years in operation). A sweep of American history, sort of a Simon Schama tale in Newark (although Newark has Phillip Roth). Newark is the history of Jews in the United States, as well as Italians, African Americans and today Africans. A milieu of Amiri Baracka and the creative energies and possiblities of hiphop, house, music and art in Newark. Catholics in America. A diversity of lgbt homosexualities both in history and au courant. Beauty, meaning, intrigue, depth, zeitgeist, what a dream!  

Homelessness, power of ethnography

Working on my online Methods of Research course. Teaching about ethnography and using homelessness as a paradigm to explore. A source in my bibliography:

I attached four pages about the Baxter and Hopper (1981) ethnography report. The first two pages are from the text. One can look in Google Books for more on the report. The third page is copy of a meeting to which Ms. Baxter and I attended to talk with NYC government about this phenomena. Lastly, copy of a journal request for an article about why homelessness was then a problem.

These are some of the issues on the importance of research. The ethnography study changed ideas on homelessness creating a whole new paradigm on homelessness. The Coalition for the Homeless was started. Government began systematically looking at homelessness. It continues to be a major issue. This report shows how dynamic and forceful research can be in changing the world!

You can post your thoughts in discussion if you would like.