Monthly Archives: February 2023

An aspect of Chapter 3 which I found quite interesting was Lydia Dixon’s identification of infrastructure as a limiting and discriminating factor for widespread healthcare access in Mexico. Although Mexican programs such as Seguro Popular increased “access” to healthcare for … Continue reading →

I find it interesting that Thomas intent was originally to not write about violence. In an effort to work in opposition to prominent narratives around Jamaica and the people who live there, she focused greatly on things outside of violence, … Continue reading →

The first thing that caught my eye in the introduction was the way Dr. Carwil Bjork-James framed his context. The way he was able to capture the historical transition in the environment of the city was especially effective to me … Continue reading →

Dr. Bjork-James begins chapter 5 by discussing the implications of race and space in Bolivia. I think often space and race aren’t considered as contributing aspects of resistance that amplify each other. Race and space are intrinsically connected, especially in … Continue reading →

I found Dr. Bjork-James focus on the common spaces and practices created through social movements interesting. Focusing on common spaces enables him to see how race and class affect social movement mobilization and decision making. He explores questions such as … Continue reading →

Dr. Carwil Bjork-James, in The Sovereign Street: Making Revolution in Urban Bolivia, highlights several protest movements in Bolivia. He considers how physical space impacts movements and forces conversations. Similarly, I was particularly intrigued in how he placed the Bolivian protests … Continue reading →

After reading The Sovereign Street: Making Revolution in Urban Bolivia, a major theme that I engaged the most with was the relationship between social roles, landscapes, and the capacity for protest actions. The ingenuity of the Bolivian people within urban … Continue reading →

One aspect I noticed right away was that Thomas highlights the powerful nature of ethnography in her storytelling at the beginning of the chapter. As she recounts two of many incidents involving gun violence and civilians, Thomas is able to … Continue reading →

Immediately, I am compelled by Thomas’ stylistic choices within her writing as well as the framework she has decided to adopt for her research. She herself states that “using reparations as a framework for thinking about contemporary problems also requires … Continue reading →

Thomas’s work really stood out to me and I loved how she built such a strong foundation in her ethnography by considering so much history, many social factors, and the role that violence so often has to play in anthropological … Continue reading →

Overall, Thomas does a great job of positioning the research in a broader systemic context. Thomas considers the systematic causes of violence in Jamaica, such as neoliberalism, slavery, and other historical factors. While I do like her positioning of violence … Continue reading →

One piece of Thomas’ approach to this ethnography that struck me as interesting was her position of authority on the topic due to her background. She lived in Jamacia before and comes from a Jamaican background, meaning that she holds … Continue reading →

Out of both readings, I was most drawn to Bernard’s section on response rate. Bernard advocates for Dillman’s method when mailing a research survey in the United States. I found the steps in his method fascinating, as details down to the … Continue reading →

Thomas’ ethnography about the formation and perceptions of citizenship in transnational Jamaica is fascinating. The structure of this ethnography differs from the other works we’ve read in this class because it examines black bodies and citizenship from a structural perspective. … Continue reading →

I first am prompted in a manner similarly to what I believe Shange is to mention the death of Keenan. As she says, he “haunts the ethnographic text”. I believe her footnote about his death and the complexities surrounding it … Continue reading →

In Chapter Three of “Progressive Dystopia,” Savannah Shange details her ethnographic research on the schooling experiences of Black students in San Francisco. Through in-depth interviews and participant observation, she reveals the ways in which the supposedly “progressive” policies and practices … Continue reading →