Urban Anthropology Essay Example

Urban anthropology is one of the major subsets of anthropology. The rather wide area deals with issues such as urbanization, poverty, social relations and urban spaces. Particular interest in the field started to emerge in the late 1960s and the early 1970s (Harms, 2011, 45). In fact, instead of looking at each of these fields independently urban anthropology brings to light the inter-relatedness between its different components. In most cases, anthropologists strive to focus on a certain urban setting and getting to know how the society in the selected region works. Notably, the findings of such anthropologists are recorded and used as a basis for coming up with the specifics of the urban space (Bestor, 2004, 17). While talking about anthropology in urban spaces, anthropologists usually conduct a tour of the cities and find out more about its people and the origin of the city itself. In essence, an understanding of what was responsible for both their modern and postmodern transformation.

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While conducting their studies, anthropologists usually employ ethnographic methods which are at times broader and do not oversimplify a case. The paying of attention to the little things that may not be of particular interest to the scientist is what gives the data acquired by an anthropologist a human touch (Mintz, 1953, 136). For instance, a scientist would often use methods such as questionnaires and mere observation to collect data. On the other hand, an anthropologist would prefer settling in his urban setting, making an inquisitive observation into what actually happens without creating alarm among the people of the region. In this paper, we will focus on how inquisitive observation is used by anthropologists to assess the different scenarios in a city. In addition, a focus on the ethnographic observations made and the difference between the urban and the rural areas would be pivotal for the paper. A discussion around modernity and structural class will also go a long way while delving into matters of urban anthropology.

Bester decided to visit the city of Tokyo to write his dissertation on urban anthropology. After a long search, he settled on Miyamoto-Cho and Tsukiji. In the first scenario, he settled for Miyamoto-Cho because it was the birthplace of his friend Dr. Machuda (Bestor, 2004, 6). He also chose Tsukiji because it was the largest seafood market in the world. Through inquisitive observation, he was able to delve into the field through the photographs that he first took at the school festival. Instead of wanting to be part of the activity itself, Bester opted for the observatory role in order not to seem like distractions. In addition, he also took a more liberal angle by helping pull down the tents. His efforts were rewarded by the information that he was able to gather from the different individuals in the locality. After a while, he was able to build a large network which enabled him to even perform his next ethnographic research in Tsukiji. In Tsukiji, he noticed that there were very few wholesalers who were majorly enjoying a majority of the profit while the small scale retailers wallowed in poverty. Over time, he also built his own network with both sets of individuals (Bestor, 2004, 77). Note that, scientists only focus on a set phenomenon while anthropologists often focus on all the aspects of the human life. In Tsukuji his chain of friends made him even to get to know how the government worked around the fish market from the villages to the market.

While inquisitive observation was able to land him most of the information he gathered, he also found the labels in a majority of the spaces in Tsukiji very helpful. In fact, they assisted him to understand some dynamics without having to ask around. One peculiar thing that he noticed is that while they would let him participate in the activities that they partook in a social gathering, they never extended the same space when it came to their business. In short, their businesses could not be used as a ground for experiments. This fact alone is evidenced enough of how important inquisitive observation was for the carrying of Bester's study. The labels and the channels through which the market worked from the village farmer to the wholesalers and even to the overseas market was a testament that what he perceived as chaos at first was a well-organized system that allowed individuals of different backgrounds to enjoy the city. Clifford Geertz focuses on the phenomenon of connections and how they may act as a pathway to success in a study. Bester's relationships with the people around him are an indication of how he perfected the grooved channel metaphor.

While studying the urban and rural population, different anthropologists have arrived at different conclusions. Notice that, there is no clear divide between what is modern and what is rural. This scenario is caused by a section of people living at the margins of urban areas which seem to have both rural and urban tendencies. Redfield defines the folk as "individuals marked by isolation, a high degree of genetic and cultural homogeneity; slow culture change; preliteracy; small numbers; minimal division of labor; simple technology." on the other hand he views the urbanites as different individuals with low morals and a less attraction to family and the values that hold the society together.

In later times, several individuals have come out against his assertions with some claiming that the morals in a family whether rural or urban are bound by what the children learn while they are young. Of great importance is the fact that the critics of Redmond were willing to admit that typological characterization is a basis through which social science theory can be conceptualized. From the Puerto Rican incident, we learn that the large-scale farming is most of the time associated with rural villages across the world. As a result, most of the towns set up near large-scale farms tend to be semi-urban since they practice agriculture just not in the subsistence way commonly associated with folk people. In Thailand for instance, the individuals living at the margins of the urban setting tend to possess motorcycles cars and televisions things that were usually commonly associated with the urban folk. In another instance, the infiltration of urban folk who come to work at the plantations pioneered by the colonialist is also another reason for the intense decrease in the size of the rural population. Authoritarian governments often tend to subject their people to urban ways of living for instance in Bangkok Rama ix in an attempt to save his people from the oppression of the colonialists forced them to dress like the western world. This idea proved futile as the temperatures in the country were too high.

Political ethos shapes most of the communities in South East Asia. Bangkok is no exception as it was basically shaped by neoliberalism. Neoliberalism refers to a system of social studies and economics that transfers control to the private sector, limiting tax reforms as well as lowering or omitting subsidies (Herzfeld, 2017, 293). The system also opens up the market to for trade. In Bangkok for instance, the system was responsible for the destruction of the urban structure of the city which was once composed of canals (Sopranzetti, 2012, 363). In essence, the city was transformed into a tourist destination with a controlled environment. In most of the redeveloped spaces, there is a belief that the city is being beatified by adopting western architecture but that is far from the truth. In essence, the so-called beautification process omits the focus on economic viability and cultural diversity of the people who come from the city.

In other instances, there has been an attempt to try and keep the culture of the people with failure arising due to the loss of the more humble structures that were very synonymous to the people of Asia (Bestor, 2004, 13). Saigon perfectly fits into Bester's definition of the marketplace and spatial location of people. For instance, the people of Saigon prefer not to be associated with the city. In fact, they would rather not be involved in anything that goes on beyond their metropolitan area. In addition, the determination and hard work that is exhibited by those who live and work in Saigon is synonymous with a majority of cities both in Vietnam and in Bangkok. Most of this people are neither rural nor urban but rather a mix of the two. As such, they cannot be neatly classified into either divide (Harms, 2011, 45). Though the majority of us may view them as modern, they are just individuals of a lower social class who have been forced to leave at the margins of the city due to their lower class.

Spatial cleansing entails the cultural and social evacuation of space (Herzfeld, 2006, 129). Monumentalization of both rural and urban areas often leads into eviction of the local populous as a consequence of insidious actions and heritage that result into massive, sudden increases in rent and real estate prices (Herzfeld, 2006, 129). Renewal and redevelopment projects across the globe are worth millions in community benefits and investments to post-industrial, de-developed and degraded neighborhoods (Arnstein, 1969, 218)

At the core of the brutal and vast municipal and state control of urban space are clearance projects. Populations that are a source of inconvenience to the prevailing order of the cities are pushed away affecting the order of the historic sites; to a great extent, this form of exclusion leads to classification of space into physical, concrete reality that assume the form of minatory signage and fencing as well as empty spaces (Herzfeld, 2016, 198). In Bangkok, the phenomenon has been well espoused on especially after the expulsion of persons from the Siam and Ayutthaya. By and large, the entire process has been exemplified by the clearance of Pom Mahakan into an empty space made up of a monumental balustrade and green lawn (Herzfeld, 2016, 200).

In Thailand, the result of space regulation is the concomitant discipline of monumental or periodic time. Largely, this provides both a contrast and a background that marks the presence of contrarian volition, agency, and contingency (Smith, 2002, 435). The reasoning behind periodic time lies not in imperatives of daily living but rather in the bureaucratic logic; this is because its social connotation can be subjected to scrutiny based on the fact that organization and power are on its side affecting its permanence (Herzfeld, 2006, 139). The state's pretensions to a reified permanence are subject to the dynamism of everyday life though not always disruptive or violent. Actually, they are not contractual but rather are consensual (Arnstein, 1969, 228); for example, though parliamentary debates may at times be heated and fiery, they are influenced by local idioms that constrain and frame disagreement as well as challenge the order of monopoly of the state.

Conclusion

The conflict between demographic elimination and conservation desires is confronted by critical heritage. This approach to culture and heritage is born out of the need to explain physical, optimistic and structural violence that persists against urban communities. Today, there is a need to restructure academic, monumental, colonial and official of heritage into grounded and nuanced distinctions (Herzfeld, 2016, 202). Regrouping of local actors marks the genesis of neoliberal urbanism which is a form of violent and discriminatory planning. Neoliberal urbanism encompasses socio-spatial reorganization and relentless speculation with diminution of mu...