290week6

This Week

1) The North American Industrial City

2) Any comments or questions about the take-home test?

3) American Sociology, Chicago, the Chicago School, and studies of urban poverty (1920 to today)

4) William Julius Wilson and Discussions of Race and Class

"Social Organization"

Wilson's three books

5) The North American City, 1790 to today

6) Other views of race and ethnicity in the United States

Chicago, the Chicago School, and studies of urban poverty (1920 to today)

When Work Disappears is one of the more recent books in a long string coming out of Chicago dealing with urban sociology. For urban sociology, Chicago is the paradigmatic city. Sociological studies of Chicago's poor were done at the very beginning of the discipline, and they continue with Wilson (most prominently) today. With this in mind, I thought that it would be worthwhile to put this book into two overlapping contexts:

--The historical development of Chicago

--Urban Sociology as a field

Chicago was a product of the 19^th century railroads. Most of its growth emerged as rail lines were laid between theport on Lake Michigan, and the expanding American West. Chicago was where the rail lines came together, and as a result, was where the factories were built. Much of the factories were focused on the processing of the commodities whipped into Chicago from the mid-west. The stock-yards (cattle) were the most notorious of the industries. But also steel (machinery), etc. Although in a short period (roughly 1870-1900), Chicago emerged as one of the largest cities in the United States.

Powering this industrial city were wave after wave of immigrants. The first were the Irish, though the Germans, Poles, Italians, Scandinavians, etc., all quickly followed.

Housed in downtown area, near the factories where they worked. Very poor needed to walk (or later with development of trolley, live near line).

Emergence of class system very apparent. In the urban areas, this was very much in the Marxist sense of workers, and capitalist. Between 1880 and 1917, Chicago was very close to the focus of the labor unrest, as progressive demands for workers rights were fought over.

At this time, "concentric zone" model of urban organization emerged, based on Chicago. Focused by class (Shaw and McKay).

--At center, rich business district

--railways and factory zone

--poor neighborhoods of immigrant first settlement (transition zone)

--commuting suburbs

--upper class

Much of this was focused by the transport hierarchy of the 1920s: feet and bicycles, trolleys, and cars.

Chicago's source of European labor was "turned off" at the time of World War I, and shortly thereafter by the Immigration Act of 1924.

Factories turned to Mexico and American South (but then shortly later Depression came.

After war, Chicago industry resumed boom. Drew from American South. This is who Wilson writes about.

American south being emptied of poor sharcroppers who were being pushed off lands of the Mississippi Delta. Began to move to Chicago where factory work was relatively easy to get.

In Chicago, boom in housing. Large construction projects as suburbs built, and first urban re-development (revitalize old immigrant housing) emerged. Federal housing loan guarantees. Backed G I loans. 30 year mortgages first emerged. Grabbed by children of immigrants. Newly arriving blacks pushed into inner cities and/or massive housing complexes which were being built (Cabrini Greens, Henry Horner Homes, etc). Notably, no restrictions on racial covenants.

Black migration from Mississippi River Delta (and elsewhere) to north continued until about 1970. Larges migration in American history—probably 10,000,000 people. Destinations: Chicago, California, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, etc. Fitted into the working class niche left by the departing European immigrants. There were jobs for them after World War II, and it is this group that Wilson writes about.

As for the immigrants (and/or their children), they moved into the suburbs which began to emerge. Falling construction costs, car-ownership, good loan conditions (guaranteed by Feds) and the deplorable conditions in the aging inner cities all contributed to this.

Note: in this context, they had little nostalgia for their old neighborhoods. Focus was on getting out. Landlords were happy to let the newly arriving blacks in.

Added issue for the new immigrants from the South: systematic racial discrimination. Occurred on two levels.

--In the purchase of residential housing in the suburbs

--the construction of massive new housing complexes by the federal government (Chicago Housing Authority).

--For example, Henry Horner Apartments. 7-15 stories out of cinder blocks. 8 city blocks. 6,000 people (1987) and declining. Robert Taylor homes, 15,000 people.

Getting Peter Phillips to Chico.

Chicago more than any other city has been the backdrop for both sociology and muck-raking journalists. Sociology was focused by the location of the University of Chicago in the immigrant neighborhoods of downtown Chicago, and an association with Jane Addams’ Hull House.

--Began with Upton Sinclair’s description of meat-house industry in the novel The Jungle (1906). Exposed corrupt politics, and life in a Lithuanian household. Jane Addams’ Hull House (settlement house for homeless) was in the same neighborhood.

--Approach complemented by the background of Robert Park who had been a journalist, and later helped found the Department of Sociology at Chicago. Focus was on urban studies, immigration, and race. Park himself had background in race relations, having worked as public relations officer for Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee Institute. Among the earliest and most important was

The Polish Peasant in North America and Europe. Two volume set by W.I. Thomas and Florian Znaniecki. Compared attitudes of Polish Peasants in Chicago, and on Polish farms. Mixes both the "macro" and "micro" views. Takes massive event, and then looks at letters, and descriptions of Polish life in Chicago.

The Gang, (1927) by Thrasher. Similar to The Polish Peasant, but focused on youth gangs. Portrays gangs as "happy go lucky" for which it has been criticized.

Frazier, E. Franklin (1932 and 1939) The Negro Family in Chicago and the Negro Family in the United States

Shaw and McKay (1942) Juvenile Delinquency in Urban Areas. Source of much of the studies of urban areas, including the "concentric" model described above. Came out of their Institute for Juvenile Research which published a large number of studies between 1920s and early 1960s. All focused on Chicago. Emphasis on "real world" studies, like that of the "Jackroller: a Delinquent Boy’s Own Story."

These studies are different than what is done today. Focus was quite often on the descriptive and small "micro-level" descriptions without the attention to theoretical descirptions found today. The key theoretical conclusion from much of the work had to do with "social disorganization" which is the idea that places which are "normless" are more likely to have problems with juvenile delinquency, mental health problems, family disruption, and other "social pathologies." Much of sociology now regards this approach as "blame the victim." But as Wilson seems to tiptoe back towards it in his book, we will do so too.

Sociology became much more "theoretical" after the first Chicago school began to fade. The field became "professionalized" and retreated into the universities where abstract theory was more important. Also, computing facilities became more available, and sociology as a field became even more focused on survey research. Lost in this process was the old emphasis on "participant observation" and engagement with institutions like Hull House, and the Institute for Juvenile Research.

Kotlowitz, Alex (1992) There are No Children Here.

Story of two boys growing up in Henry Horner Homes in the late 1980s. Very journalistic and readable.

Lemann, Nicholas (1992) The Promised Land

Story of the Black migration from the Mississippi River Delta up to Chicago after World War II. Nature of Good story of how Cabrini Greens and Robert Taylor Homes were established. Relations between Mississippi River Delta and Chicago. Another easy read.

Wilson

The Declining Significance of Race (1978 and 1980)

This was Wilson’s first important book. It is not about Chicago, but about the difference between class and race. Using a definition of class similar to Weber (p. ix). Criticized previous work for its emphasis on race to the exclusion of class. In a wide-ranging historical study, claimed that the significance of race had declined in the United States during the last 150 years. What took its place was a labor market where, due in part to their late entry, blacks were at a systematic disdvantage. He points out though that this is fundamentally rooted in class relations, not status

"From Racial Opproession to Economic Class Subordination"

Three basic stages of black-white relations:

1. Plantation Economy and Racial-caste oppression
2. Industrial expansion, class conflict, and racial oppression
3. Progressive Transition from racial inequalities to class inequalities

The book became well-known at the time it was published. It said that our urban problems were new, and the result of post-World War II economic disruptions, and not only ingrained racism. Notably, it also distinguished itself form 19^th century urban poverty as well. It did not offer policy solutions, but became used as such:

--neo-conservatives focused on the success of the black middle class being a success story. Neo-conservatives also focused on statistics he argued with which described a negative effect on income emerging from rising rates of single-parenthood in the "underclass."

--liberals focused on its claim that racism had changed in its nature, and was no longer the sole explanatory factor in explaining the position of the urban poor.

He sharply distinguishes between "historic discrimination" which set the stage for social structure, and contemporary discrimination which was addressed by the civil rights laws.

The Truly Disadvantaged (1987)

The Truly Disadvantaged is Wilson’s focus on policy prescriptions for the poor. I.e. the practical policy implications of his theory. First shot at focusing on joblessness generated by the world economy as being explanatory. Explicitly takes up where the Moynihan Report let off (explain).

Focus on describing the inner cities as places where there were very different values from that of mainstream America. Separate experience with crime, family, social relations, the government, etc. Isolated and segregated from the mainstream society which includes white and black middle class.

There is a recent rise in social dislocation within the underclass that is not explained by historical circumstances. There is also a ghetto culture that is different, and does not articulate well with the broader society. And, any explanations that prescribe policies, need to recognize this.

Wilson argues that programs of broad economic support via jobs is a better way to transform the urban poor. Contrast FDR and LBJ

FDR—Large public works programs, not income tested (also Social Security and Medicaid)

LBJ—Benefits programs were are means tested. These were more likely to target poor of various strata, whether by income, location, or race. These became the focus of middle-class resentment, particularly after 1980.

Wilson favors more the FDR approach, which he thinks will have broader political support.

Reason he favors this. "Social Dislocation" and Social Organization are at the heart of the problem. This requires "Universal Programs of Reform." E.g.

--apprenticeship and training programs focused on the national job market

--collecting from absent parents

--Earned Income Credit (modeled after European child-support allowances)

--Child Care

--Promote Geographic Mobility and dispersion of the poor e.g. through zoning)

My own comments: I find it surprising that none of his proposals focus on increasing the numbers of good working class jobs, such as there were in the unionized trades of the 1940s and 1950s. He seems to imply that these are beyond the will of the country.

When Work Disappears (1996)

Comes out of the first two books. Same theme. Same approach. Emphasis is on the nature of joblessness in the perpetuation of the urban under-class.