Whyte and Anthropology

What did you find memorable from the anthropologist audio and the Whyte readings?

Both readings addressed viewing or more precisely looking at the world that we inhabit. In the anthropologist audio- the speaker investigated the role of an anthropologist. I was interested in the anthropologists role in society. It must be a strange predicament to have the job of analyzing, observing and making conclusions as an "other" while you most certainly are not. I remember in undergrad I read an article that described the act of going to a dentist- however instead of telling us readers that it was a dental visit- the author wrote distinctly about the act. The author was so compelling and capable that when I came to class the next day detailing how brutish and awful the rape story was ( only to have my class mate point out that it was merely a dental visit) I was mortified by my stupidity! So that incident is how I approach anthropology. However, the role of an anthropologist is not to exoticize the familiar, but to analyze, digest and contextualize the familiar. Whyte did just that in his article. He looked at urban settings such as local blocks in New York and publicly loxcated spaces such as a break area between buildings in Manhattan and looked at there effectiveness in the larger context of the city as well as within social structures. (In this case I guess I might cal him an urban sociologist..) I was particularly interested in his writings about Manhattan because I had worked at the Museum of Art and Design on 53rd Street and there were 2 public space there. One space- was really a stretch of cement with benches next to the Deutche Bank and the other was Paley Plaza- a special spot in the city created as a "green space" and included a waterfall. The space next to my job- Deutche Bank Plaza- exemplified to me- all that was wrong with Midtown (and in turn my horrible job). The place was largely populated by men in suits smoking. As a woman I felt intimidated, uncomfortable and unwanted in the rest area. Conversely,Paley Plaza was welcoming, restful and an oasis. I felt comfortabe there. Now I see that this was a calculated effort in urban planning. Even my being a woman was a factor in how I interacted with the space. It is truly amazing how gender, proximity to other people, location and time can affect how someone interacts with a space and how the space interacts with them.