Observations in All Our Kin Essay -- Carol Stack

Carol Stack finds herself in a curious place as a new(a) white woman venturing into a black neighborhood in hopes of alleviating negative stereotypes and bringing illumination into a semiosphere that is altogether ignored or even despised. plot of ground she delimitate her purpose as the attempt to illustrate the collective adaptations to poverty of men, women, and children within the social-cultural network of the black urban family (28), her methods are not merely those of an alfresco observer sp poping back information, but truly that of an actively engaged participant. Staying true to the guidelines of participant observation studies, Stack did not attempt to isolate or manipulate the culture she saw, and instead of donning the lab coat, as it were, and playing the role of the experimenting scientist, or simply sneaking in, Stack was very human in her interactions and dealings, fighting(a) as actively as possible in peoples real lives in The Flats. (Hedrick).Twenty years ago , Stack sought to explain why the impoverished bailiwick was not subject to conventional judgment and evaluation by describing the primary differences between that society, and the more affluent culture that defines the standards. To say, for example, that the average black household is ambiguous would be a misstatement. On the contrary, these households are elaborately structured, but in a more fluid manner than the conventional home. Typically, these subcultures are negatively defined or judged by what they are not. Through this lens, The Flats appears to be a disheveled mess of rats scurrying for the next scrap of food. Walking into this situation, Stack had to prove the picture that distinctively negative features attributed to poor families, that they are fat... ...their lifestyles or values, but merely funnel greater sums of money into bottomless, self-destructing pits (23). If this is true, then certainly the American Dream wins out for virtue. Indeed, throwing money at a problem absolutely does not make it go away but when families are legitimately struggling to make ends execute and goods are scarce, when theyve established these complex chains of organized networks and trades, and when they can empathize with others in their situation and see the big picture beyond their own, one is remaining to wonder why Stacks voice hasnt been heard more widely, and why the residents of The Flats are still left to fight against the current in their own comparatively competent culture of exchange, and networks of all their kin.Stack, Carol B. All Our Kin Strategies for Survival in a Black Community. New York Basic Books, 1983.