News and Notes

Hey guys. Just a side note. I've mentioned Ellen Cushman before, and we've had several discussions on "stepping out of the ivory tower." Yesterday on News and Notes I heard an interview with a Professor from Columbia University. He uses the term ivory tower in a quite literal sense, saying that many schools tell you which streets not to cross and areas of town to avoid so that you stay protected on campus (in the ivory tower). He decides to leave the tower and learn outside its boundaries. So much of what he says sounds like Cushman. His methods are slightly different, but I like his overall thought.
His book is called Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets


***He is teased because on his first attempt to step outside the tower and learn from the men in the restricted areas of town he passed out surveys. He says the first question was 'How does it feel to be poor and black?' The gang members he handed these to immediately thought he was from a rival gang : ) ***

I would argue that from the outset, he limits the respondents language. It comes as no surprise that he was displeased with the results of this "research" experience and eventually learned a new approach. He infiltrated the culture that he studied in broke the barriers between "us" and "them."