Study guide to Bourgois' In Search of Respect..., Introduction
Key terms and concepts:
(p.1) El Barrio
(p.8) inner city street culture; culture of resistance
(p.11) hegemony
oppositional mentality
(p.12) political economy
(p.13) positivist research
self-conscious reflexivity
deconstructivist theory
culture as "text"
(p.14) postmodernism
(p.16) culture of poverty
Oscar Lewis, and La Vida
(p.17) cultural production theory
underclass
"structure" vs. "agency"
Study questions:
1) According to Bourgois, "substance abuse in the inner city is merely a symptom—and a vivid
symbol—of deeper dynamics of social marginalization and alienation" (p.2). Explain what this might
mean. Do you agree?
2) What do you understand by "inner city street culture" (p.8)?
3) Bourgois says, "although street culture emerges out of a personal search for dignity and a rejection
of racism and subjugation, it ultimately becomes an active agent in personal degradation and
community ruin" (p. 9). Explain.
4) How do you interpret Bourgois' statement that he hopes to present the lives of crack dealers "in a
manner that emphasizes the interface between structural oppression and individual action" (p.12)?
5) Discuss what Bourgois means by the "myth of ethnographic authority" (p. 13).
6) In your own words, explain what Bourgois means by saying, "ethnographic presentations of social
marginalization are almost guaranteed to be received by the general public through a conservative,
unforgiving lens" (p. 15). How do you think this would this complicate a desire on his part to have his
research impact public policy?
7) Summarize Bourgois' critique of the "culture of poverty" concept (pp. 16-17). Doesn't
"marginalization" in Bourgois' terms imply that there is a "culture of poverty"? Explain.
8) Bourgois says, "through cultural practices of opposition, individuals shape the oppression that larger
forces impose on them" (p. 17). Interpret this in your own words and with reference to your own
experience, if possible. Can you think of other examples of this process?
9) Explain what Bourgois means by the "structure vs. agency" conceptual opposition (pp. 17-18).