Assignment:
Downtown Observations of Socioeconomic Status
NOTE: 2 FIELD ASSIGNMENT FORMS TO COMPLETE
Complete the field assurance form
before you make your site visit. You must complete the field assurance form if
you want your paper to be graded. It is of utmost importance that you make these
visits in a safe manner. CLICK
HERE to get the field assurance form. You will assure me that you will
follow specific guidelines for making a safe trip.
You also need to complete the waiver of responsibility form
before you make your site visit. CLICK HERE
for waiver form.
PURPOSE.
This assignment serves several purposes.
1) It gets you out into Philadelphia, visiting two locations of historical importance to Philadelphia's prohibition history from the 1920s. Thus, it makes you a little more familiar with Philadelphia.
2) It gives you a chance to practice observation skills. More specifically, you will be looking at the people in these two different locations, and remarking on what you see in terms of socioeconomic status (SES) differences.
3) It gives you practice linking general concepts with specific observable attributes. In short, you are operationalizing the concept.
BEFORE YOU GO
Sign and turn in both the field assurance and waiver forms, make buddy arrangements as needed.
Review the readings about the four specific attributes of
SES
TOTAL TIME
You should allow yourself 2 - 3 hours
for making the roundtrip and getting to the sites. Taking the bus may take
longer. If you go on Saturday, the subways run somewhat less frequently. If you
are driving, obviously it is faster, but you need to pay for parking
GETTING DOWNTOWN, TO THE SITES, AND RETURN.
On public transit, you can take the C bus southbound on the west side of
Broad Street, or go to the subway stop (NW corner of Broad and Cecil B. Moore,
outside bookstore), and take the Broad Street Subway marked Pattison Avenue.
Get off at City Hall, find your way above ground, look for City Hall (big
building, statue of Willy Penn on top with big hat), and head east. (There are
pedestrian concourses that go underground and east toward the Gallery, but you
will probably encounter fewer homeless folks is you exit the City Hall Station
Directly.) You will need $4 - $5 in ones or change to pay the fare both ways.
On the C bus, get off around City Hall, walk east on Market or Filbert until you
get to North 10th Street. Turn up until you get to Cuthbert.
After making your observations at 10th and Cuthbert, proceed
south to either Market or Chestnut streets, and head west back to Broad Street.
From there, proceed south on Broad Street to the intersection of Broad Street
and Walnut Street. The Bellevue -- the old Bellevue-Stratford Hotel is on
the southwest corner. Take a look at the kinds of people moving in an
out. There are shops now on the main floor in what used to be the lobby. Pop in.
Then proceed south one more block to the intersection of Broad and Locust
Streets. On the southeast corner is the Doubletree Hotel. This is the
site formerly occupied by the Ritz Carlton Hotel. Take a look at the people
going out and coming in. Pop in the lobby and take a look around. Pop out. Can
you see the Kimmel Center? The Academy of Music?
For your return, you can either catch the C Bus
northbound on the southeast corner of Broad and Walnut, across from the
Bellevue. Or, you can enter the Broad
Street subway northbound from the east side of Broad Street between
Walnut and Locust. You want northbound, orange train toward Fern Rock.
Don't overshoot the Temple / Cecil B. Moore stop.
WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT
At each site make observations about the SES of the people passing
through the area, or using the shops in the area. Your clues to SES will be how
people are dressed, what they are carrying that might indicate that they are
better off or worse off, perhaps how they are speaking. Your clues also will be
the businesses nearby themselves. What types of services or products are they
selling, and how expensive do those appear to be?
You are ignoring race and ethnicity.
WHAT YOU ARE WRITING UP
Your paper will start with the following sentences:
10th and Cuthbert was the site of a saloon owned in the 1920s by Hughie McLoon, hunchback and former mascot for the Philadelphia Athletics. It represents a pretty typical example of the kinds of locations heavily raided by Butler in 1924 when he was trying to close down saloons and speakeasies in the Tenderloin section of Philadelphia. The Bellevue Hotel, and the Doubletree Hotel, the latter on the site of the old Ritz Carlton, were hotel sites where Butler tried to shut down illegal alcohol use at the end of his time in Philadelphia, in late 1925. Visiting these two sites today reveals the following differences in socioeconomic status.
* You will describe some of the specific things that you saw in each location
relevant to the SES of the people using this site, and the nearby businesses. Do not go on and on here. Just a few key details from your field
notes. No more than half a page. ALso, be sure to specify the time, date, day of
week and weather conditions when you were at each location.
* You will then draw a conclusion about the social class or socioeconomic status
of the users of each location. Presume these differences also were present in
the 1920s.
* Using Black's terminology, you will describe the differences in the types of
law being enforced at each location.
* Describe the implications, given Black's model, of the chances for success of
each type of enforcement.
* Include a closing comment. This may be a personal reaction, a criticism of
Black's model, or something else, as long as it is cogent. Short paragraph.
* You will include at least three references: one to social class, one to Black,
one to Philadelphia readings. Each reference will have an in-line citation
(Author last name, year published) and a full reference in a reference section
at the end.
PARAMETERS:
MAPS BELOW STAR EACH LOCATION
North 10th Street and Cuthbert Street![]() |
South Broad Street and Locust Street
![]() |
GRADING RUBRIC
The following grading rubric will be used:
| Note: you can lose points for mis-spelled words and flagrant grammatical errors. | Total points possible | |||||
| TUID on each page, no name | 5 | |||||
| 3 references, each appropriate described in reference section and appearing in in-line citation | (0) no references | one or more references, but not properly cited | in-line cite and reference ok, but only one | in-line cite and reference ok, but only two | (6) ok both, all three | 6 |
| Typed, double spaced, proper font (12 pitch), proper margins, 2 pages; lose points if you go over or are too short or do not follow typing instructions | 4 | |||||
| Description: SES observables | Details provided, only for one site, but not relevant to SES (5) | Have details for two sites, but it is not clear how they are relevant to SES (10) | Key details relevant to SES but only for one location (15) | Good relevant details at one site, details not clear or not relevant at second site (20) | Key details relevant to SES described for both locations (25) | 25 |
| Description: Black, types of law probably enforced in 1920s | Some terms not correct (10) | Correct terms, and clear links to site, but not clear understanding of concepts (15) | Correct terms, it is clear terms are understood, clear links to each site (20) | 20 | ||
| Implications for law enforcement success, using Black's model | Confusing (5) | Mostly clear, mostly correct (15) | Clear and correct (20) | 20 | ||
| Closing comment included | Thoughtful sentence (10) | Thoughtful paragraph (20) | 20 | |||