Portfolio at NYU

Mitchell Duneier, Sidewalk (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1999)
Reissued by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in paperback in 2000.

Like any good sociologist, Mitchell Duneier spent five years in the field, meticulously researching the exotic culture of the "habitat" he'd studied since he earned his Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Chicago. Instead of finding some far-flung corner of Africa or secret island culture, Duneier literally walked out his door – analyzing the street vendors outside his apartment, located in the untamed wilderness around NYU's campus in Greenwich Village.

Duneier tackles his unlikely subject with an equally revolutionary voice. His first three chapters study African American men who sell magazines and books in the neighborhood. The first hundred pages lay out all the traditional sociological aspects: street economy, unique linguistic characteristics, and historical background for these homeless men. These pages typically might have been written the academic dryness of an anthropological text, but Duneier writes with a rare kind of sympathy, letting the stories tug readers through his subjects' amazing life struggles, like the plot of a good novel.

Beyond the innovative style he brings to sociology, Duneier also manages to pull back layers of repressed race-relations that Americans take for granted every day, and he records them as subtly as any novelist. His characters develop and change over the course of the book, including the narrator. He acknowledges that "the interaction between race and class differences very likely made me uneasy, though I was unaware of that at the time. I felt that, as a white male, I stood out. In my mind, I had no place at his table ... formed a sort exclusionary black zone where African Americans were welcome but whites were not."

He writes with that same frankness throughout the whole book, never hiding behind sociological jargon. By identifying his role as observer and participant in the study, he breaks the illusion of scientific objectivity that has limited traditional sociology. And more importantly, Duneier's honesty sticks into the minds of his middle-class, college-educated readership — after all, thousands of NYU students and New Yorkers pass these tables every day and ignore the people selling books.

Duneier forces his readers to escape that "black zone," just as he did. The book is covered with black-and-white photographs, illuminating the text wonderfully. Photojournalist Ovie Carter spent a few months with the sociologist, capturing crucial moments of interaction at the booksellers' tables.

Besides these achievements, the book offers countless lessons on reporting that all journalists should experience. He seamlessly blends the stylish prose of a novelist with the rigor of a sociologist. The book incorporates innumerable hours of tape-recorded conversations, and he lets the stories and language guide the text, forming a perfect tapestry of reportage and analysis.

His chapter "Talking to Women" contains some of the most closely studied and intricate dialogue ever written about New York City. Duneier watches his subjects harass women on the street — and then he breaks down the speech with linguistic tools. By following his example, reporters can learn how to capture and explore urban dialogue in their articles.

Duneier has published two other books, Slim's Table (a study of a street vendor in Chicago, the place where he developed the methodology for Sidewalk), and a sociology textbook that's used in undergraduate programs around the country. As Americans struggle with rising numbers of poor immigrants, unemployment, and shrinking welfare budgets, this kind of reportage will become more important for American journalists. Duneier reminds us of the war for survival that goes on outside our doors, the wars we never notice. After reading Sidewalk, that whole universe unfolds, inspiring closer attention to the lower-classes and the prejudices that we tend to ignore.

MORE:
The American Journal of Sociology debates Sidewalk
Salon.com Review
The CUNY Sociology Department, where Duneier Teaches