The University of Chicago Press 1993 (4th ed). Softcover, 418 pp.
Street Corner Society is one of a handful of works that can justifiably
be called classics of sociological research. William Foote Whyte's
account of the Italian American slum he called "Cornerville"-Boston's
North End-has been the model for urban ethnography for fifty years. By
mapping the intricate social worlds of street gangs and "corner boys,"
Whyte was among the first to demonstrate that a poor community need not
be socially disorganized. His writing set a standard for vivid
portrayals of real people in real situations. And his frank discussion
of his methodology-participant observation-has served as an essential
casebook in field research for generations of students and scholars.
This fiftieth anniversary edition includes a new preface and revisions
to the methodological appendix. In a new section on the book's legacy,
Whyte responds to recent challenges to the validity, interpretation, and
uses of his data.