Richard Sennett. Families Against the City: Middle Class Homes of Industrial Chicago, 1872-1890. Pp. x, 258. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1970. $8.50

Author(s):  
Irving Lewis Allen
2021 ◽  
pp. 147447402110205
Author(s):  
Shruti Ragavan

Balconies, windows and terraces have come to be identified as spaces with newfound meaning over the past year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and concomitant lockdowns. There was not only a marked increase in the use of these spaces, but more importantly a difference in the very nature of this use since March 2020. It is keeping this latter point in mind, that I make an attempt to understand the spatial mobilities afforded by the balcony in the area of ethnographic research. The street overlooking my balcony, situated amidst an urban village in the city of Delhi – one of my field sites, is composed of middle and lower-middle class residents, dairy farms and farmers, bovines and other nonhumans. In this note, through ethnographic observations, I reflect upon the balcony as constituting that liminal space between ‘field’ and ‘home’, as well as, as a spatial framing device which conditions and affects our observations and interactions. This is explored by examining two elements – the gendered nature of the space, and the notion of ‘distance and proximity’, through personal narratives of engaging-with the field, and subjects-objects of study in the city.


1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Pierre Collin

The Great Depression of the 1930s transformed municipal political life in Montreal, as it did that in other major cities in North America. For one thing, the debate between populists and reformers was revived as the electoral scene underwent fundamental changes. In many cities, political machines running on patronage became more influential as the middle class began to desert the city for the suburbs. At the same time, the margin of budgetary maneuvering available to cities was shrinking, and local public finances were reduced. Municipalities that had been obliged to borrow to meet social needs resulting from the depression were faced with a prolonged fiscal crisis, which for many of them resulted in bankruptcy and trusteeship. This was Montreal's fate in 1940.


Transfers ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 79-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahnaz Huq-Hussain ◽  
Umme Habiba

This article examines the travel behavior of middle-class women in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh and one of the world's largest and most densely populated cities. In particular, we focus on women's use of non-motorized rickshaws to understand the constraints on mobility for women in Dhaka. Primary research, in the form of an empirical study that surveyed women in six neighborhoods of Dhaka, underpins our findings. Our quantitative and qualitative data presents a detailed picture of women's mobility through the city. We argue that although over 75 percent of women surveyed chose the rickshaw as their main vehicle for travel, they did so within a complex framework of limited transport options. Women's mobility patterns have been further complicated by government action to decrease congestion by banning rickshaws from major roads in the city. Our article highlights the constraints on mobility that middle-class women in Dhaka face including inadequate services, poorly maintained roads, adverse weather conditions, safety and security issues, and the difficulty of confronting traditional views of women in public arenas.


Author(s):  
Yanwar Pribadi

Abstract This article discusses the relationship between Sekolah Islam (Salafism-influenced Islamic schools) and urban middle-class Muslims. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in the City of Serang (Kota Serang), near Jakarta, this paper argues that these conservative and puritan Muslims demonstrate their Islamic identity politics through their engagement with Sekolah Islam. The analysis of in-depth interviews with and close observations of parents of students and school custodians (preachers or occasionally spiritual trainers) at several Sekolah Islam reveals that they have attempted to pursue ‘true’ Islamic identity and have claimed recognition of their identity as the most appropriate. The pursuit of a ‘true’ Islamic identity has infused Islamic identity politics, and there is an oppositional relationship between local Islamic traditions and Salafism, as seen in Sekolah Islam. The relationship between Islam and identity politics becomes intricate when it is transformed into public symbols, discourses, and practices at many Sekolah Islam. This paper shows that through their understanding and activities at Sekolah Islam, these Muslims are avid actors in the contemporary landscape of Islamic identity politics in Indonesia. By taking examples from Sekolah Islam in Indonesia, this article unveils social transformations that may also take place in the larger Muslim world.


2020 ◽  
pp. 229-264
Author(s):  
Mateusz Szuba

The above paper deals with the clergy in the state of Warcisław II, Duke of Gdańsk and East­­­‑Pomerania between 1266 and 1269/70. The careers of representatives of this class are reconstructed by collecting and verifying source information and the extensive discussions of earlier historians. Four clergymen from Gdańsk, 2 from Słupsk, and Michael priest of “Saulyn” have been authenticated, but it is not certain that the last two places actually belonged to Warcisław’s state. The main conclusion of this research is that during the reign of Warcisław II, clergy were of political significance. They served in administration and in an early chancellery service, as in the case of a group of clergy in the fortified church in Gdańsk. It is likely that one of local priests­­­‑ Wacław/Unisław – was also probably related to an influential gentry family This was also probably the case with Luder, priest of St. Catharine’s Church in the city of Gdańsk. He was probably an agent mediating between the Duke and the middle class. Warcisław II had good relations with the middle class and its political influence was growing during his reign. In Słupsk, too, the clergy participated in changing political affiliations, but that is visible only later. Clergymen also supported other dukes; this was visible and of importance during the East­­­‑Pomeranian civil war (1269–1271) between Warcisław II and Msciwoj II, which ended in the former’s exile. One historian believes that the priest Michael served in Salino in East­­­‑Pomerania. Perhaps his presence in a privilege from 1268 had a political context – by that act Warcisław II could show his claims to Białogarda’s land. This had been mortgaged to the Teutonic Order by Duke Racibor. Otherwise, according to the opinion of Klemens Bruski, Michael could have served in another place – Słona near Kościerzyna.


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