In reading Peter Kwong’s discussion on the U.S. Immigration Debate, I was struck by an issue fundamental to most immigration-centric considerations: more often than not, we overlook humanitarian aspects for economic concern. We gloss over the fact that migrants are as human as us yet allow the forces of supply and demand dictate their well-being. […]
A recent NYT article by Jennifer Schuessler reports about Harvard sociologist Matthew Desmond’s upcoming book Evicted: Poverty and Property in the American City that will be published next week: The sociologist William Julius Wilson called Mr. Desmond’s research, which combines ethnographic observation with reams of hard-won data, “one of the most comprehensive field studies of the […]
If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. Bruce Lee
Ethnography begs the begs the question, can we ever approach objectivity? And if not, are subjective observations still of worth? Even something as simple as what the ethnographer pays attention to– even ignoring their preconceived ideas about the things they see– completely changes the tone and content of a report. But does it change the […]
This is a friendly reminder that the ITF Tech Day survey closes tomorrow, Feb. 22, at 5 pm, so if you haven’t already, please take the time to fill it out. The survey is available here: ITF Survey for Seminar 2, The Peopling of New York (Prof. Williams). Your survey answers will influence which topics […]
The High Line walkway has to be one of the most beautiful places to visit in the city. I usually visit in the summer with friends where there are special events going on but it was quite interesting to see a place so dear to my heart in the winter. It was such a difference […]
It’s 2:00 pm on a Wednesday. The date is February 10th, 2016. I’m on the lower west side of Manhattan on the High Line. It’s cold outside, windy but not as harsh as the wind usually is in Manhattan. The sky is cloudy and the air is filled with city noise such as the engine […]
I visited the High Line on a very cold day, around 2:01pm. The temperature was definitely below zero and it seemed as it was about to snow. The High Line is a former industrial railway. The first thing I noticed was the salt on the ground in preparation for the possible snowfall. As I walked […]
I looked at my phone. 2:11. I looked up. Leaning against a rusty, paint-chipped railing, two grey haired men, dressed in plain, inconspicuous jackets, introduced the nauseating smell of cigarettes to the passersby. The surroundings, which were scarcely populated, didn’t possess the bustle and enthusiasm that was typical of New York City. Instead, the clouds […]
