Charles Booth Essay Example for Free

Charles Booth Essay The social history of 19th century London can only be deduced through the remaining surveys and various documents left from that time period. Charles Booth was an innovative surveyor and social investigator in the late 1800s and formed surveys of the life and labor of the 19th century London population. Charles Booth took initiative to look into the various areas of poverty, but also examined the possible reasons for poverty. Past surveyors did not use accurate methods to create statistics or charts. Most social investigators used observation for their respective purpose. Booth used scientific methods and created better detailed censuses and surveys of London. Booth was the first to make connections and implications of poverty from the areas in which the people lived, living conditions, religious life, and occupation. His methodologies were complex and his conclusions were based upon empirical data. Charles Booth used innovated research methods such as: detailed questionnaires, personal interviews, and visual observations to investigate the cause of poverty. Certain areas in London, for example the East End, were infamously known for its poverty and unfortunate crimes. Many knew only of the conditions in the East End because of authors such as Charles Dickens and George Moore that â€Å"often set their works in poorer parts of town. † The conditions were overly exaggerated and were only representative of a small section of the East End. Inwood describes the situation accurately with his statement, â€Å"how many people lived in squalor and malnutrition was not known, although some writers tried to quantify London poverty, on the basis of inadequate evidence. Mayhew produced many pages of statistics, but most of them referred to the ‘street folk’, beggars, hawkers, scavengers, and entertainers, a tiny proportion of the London poor. † There were other social surveys conducted before Charles Booth started his social investigation, however none were as detailed and representative of the entire London population as Booth. â€Å"Investigative journalist, Henry Mayhew, reported on their interviews with the poor, while a few intrepid social explorers dressed as tramps and experienced at first-hand a night in the casual ward of a workhouse. Nonetheless, there were still no in-depth and comprehensive surveys conducted until Charles Booth. Charles Booth was commissioned by the Lord Mayor of London’s Relief Fund in 1885 to analyze the census responses. Booth felt that the census was disorganized and not an adequate indication of the social problems in London. Therefore, he took it upon himself to fix and reorganize the cen sus. The first meeting was held on April 17, 1886 for the reconstruction of the census. From 1886-1903, Booth continued to use his methodologies to gather data and research the cause of the social problems in London, specifically poverty. Charles Booth studied the integral parts of the city by examining the background information of the citizens of every street in London. He focused his efforts into three main areas: the exploration of poverty, the occupations of Londoners, and the religious influence. Poverty was a major social concern during the Victorian era, as well as a continual struggle with even the most sophisticated societies in the 21st century. Booth found the social problem of poverty an important issue to explore. Poverty maps of Charles Booth were the first color-coded maps during the late 19th century. Booth created a map that encompassed the levels of poverty and wealth with different colors ranging from black to yellow to indicate a specific level of poverty that was placed directly to the London address of the household. There were eight poverty levels labeled A-H; with the lowest class labeled with the letter A and increasing in wealth with the wealthiest class labeled with the letter H. The hierarchal poverty classification system starts at the bottom with letter A and color black, which includes the criminals, street sellers, occasional laborers, and loafers. Letter B is the color dark blue and includes the very poor, casual earners that work no more than 3 days a week, and the persons that are â€Å"mentally, morally, or physically incapable of work. † Letter C includes the persons of â€Å"intermittent earnings† and an income of â€Å"18-21s for a moderate household,† laborers with irregular work,† and the â€Å"poor artisans. Letter D includes the â€Å"small regular earners,† poor, and â€Å"struggle to make ends meet† but are â€Å"decent steady men, paying their way and bringing up their children respectably. Letter C and D are represented by a light blue color and sometimes as purple if grouped with Letter E. Letter E includes the â€Å"regular earners earning 22-30s a week,† wives normally do not take trade, and boys and girls who normally do work. Letter F includes the â€Å"highest paid artisans,† â€Å"high class labor† that makes more than 30s a week. Letter E and F are represented by the color pink. Letter G includes the â€Å"lower middle class† described as â€Å"hardworking sober energetic men. † Letter G is signified by the color red. The wealthiest class, Letter H includes the â€Å"upper middle class† that keep servants. Letter H is represented by the color yellow. All of these poverty levels are placed onto the corresponding street on the map of the household described. In order to make the poverty map, Booth enlists others to help him gather his research. Booth instructed the â€Å"School Board visitors† to visit each individual home with children that were registered with the school district and collect information. The â€Å"School Board visitors† were to collect detailed information on the house address, number of rooms that the family inhabited, rent, occupations’ of the head of the household and the wife, and number of children in the household. Then the â€Å"School Board visitors† were to categorize the household into the poverty level according to the eight levels and then to assign the household to the corresponding color for the map. Due to the number of households in London, it became evident that taking a survey of every household would be too time-consuming. Therefore, a general survey of the street was also taken in addition to a small number of households on the street. The â€Å"School Board visitors† were instructed to write down notes on the street name, surveyed houses and the color associated, street condition, number of children between the ages of 3-13, and the color the street is associated with the poverty map. The end result is a color coded map of the levels of poverty specific from street to street. To inspect the social reasons for poverty, Charles Booth looked into the occupations that various household members held. Charles Booth saw industry as a major contributor to the level of poverty associated with a household. For that reason, he requested surveys and interviewed persons with particular occupations about their personal experiences to gain insight into the possible associations with poverty. Booth broke down the occupations into 18 categories and 89 subcategories with each industry given an occupation survey.

Art on Brown vs. Board Education Supreme Court decision :: Art Exhibit Race

Fifty years ago the state of our beautiful nation was quite different. The United States were not very united at all. Fifty years ago a court decision marked a change in society that Americans will experience forever. The Brown vs. Board Supreme Court decision gave the old ?separate but equal? laws the boot. It marked the start of integration of public schools and universities. The process was not a smooth one to say the least, yet American society as it stands today is a far more equal because of it. However close we may be to equal it still is not yet equal. Artists of late have been expressing their view of American culture in many different ways. A particular group of artists calls themselves Social Studies more than likely referring to their portrayal of American social issues. At Krannert Art Museum this year Social Studies put out their third exhibit featuring eight artists? works that provoke viewers to reflect on issues of identity, tolerance, equal rights, and integration as they apply to education now. When I walked in to the exhibit I noticed a very interesting portrait to begin with. It was five separate portraits of two women, one white, one black, both attempting to sit in the same chair. The title of the work was Plessy vs. Ferguson, in memory of the Supreme Court decision that made segregation legal. The separate part seemed to hold true but the equal part was far more than lacking. Most cases seemed to be that there wasn?t enough to separate hence the reason for the two women struggling over the same chair. This art took me awhile to understand because my brain had not been geared to what I was actually witnessing. It wasn?t until I sat down on a retro style couch resting on a beige shag carpet rug facing a silent movie projection. The obvious use of perspective in this art form helped me understand the side by side projection of two different family videos. One was footage from a Jewish family and the other was an African American family?s footage. Both of the videos depicted family gatherings for celebrations such as barbeques, birthday parties, trips to Disney World and religious holidays.

Society: Comparison to the Panopticon

According to Wikepedia, a panopticon is a type of prison where the observer is able to watch the prisoners without the prisoner knowing when they are being watched. The concept of the design is to allow an observer to observe (-opticon) all (pan-) prisoners thereby conveying what one architect has called the â€Å"sentiment of an invisible omnisciece. The panopticon was invented by English philosopher Jeremy Bentham in 1785. Bentham himself described the Panopticon as â€Å"a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind, in a quantity hitherto without example. Michel Foucault, a French philosopher and historian of ideas uses this term in his book Discipline and Punish the Birth of the Prison as a metaphor to explain society. I will try to breakdown this metaphor to explain what Foucault means by this. Foucault explains we are living in a system where everything we do is survellience, thus we are living in a panopticon. We may feel that we have total privacy, but if we really sit back and observe we will come to an understanding that we are always being surveillance. Everything we do is recorded and monitored just like in the panopticon. We can not go to the store without cameras watching us or drive down the highway freely speeding without fear of getting caught by a police watching us. As similar to the panopticon we do not exactly know when we are being watched, but when we get the feeling we are being watched, we tend to try and behave perfectly. . â€Å"The Panopticon is a machine for dissociating the see/being seen dyad: in the peripheric ring, one is totally seen, without ever seeing; in the central tower, one sees everything without ever being seen. But he also proposes that not only prisons but most ordered structures like schools, factories, hospitals, workforces all resemble Benthams panopticon. The purpose of this panoptcicon is to tame ind ividuals in a way of functioning power and discipline in order to have a structured society. Foucault says, â€Å"The panoptic schema, without disappearing as such or losing any of its properties, was destined to spread throughout the social body, its vocation was to become a generalized function†. (Discipline 207) We are under a power because we are forced to behave in a way that is not our own to refrain from being disciplined. In our society we have places for people who refuse to follow the structure of our society they are places of restraints to tame the threats of society like hospitals, correctional facilities, and alternative schools that applies the panoptic schema. Panoptic living not only affects physically but also mentally. We know that we are being watch, because cameras are all around but the point is we do not know when we are being watched therefore we are forced to have good behavior at all times. The workforce can be a good example of this. Take into account a customer service representative in the call center must answer questions and assist with any concerns or complaints a customer may have. Even if a customer is rude, the representative is under a restraint because all calls are recorded at random and the representative is forced to be enthusiastic, kind and patient with the customer even if it results in verbal abuse by a customer. This creates a problem because the person is being forced to be perfect in an imperfect society. We are all under some form of power to conduct ourselves in a way that is acceptable to our society. Therefore we are constantly watching each others’ actions and if society disapproves then we are being disobedient to the power and therefore must suffer discipline. But because most of us fear punishment we continue to try to behave appropriately and then it becomes a norm we are use to doing. When we do something out of the norm, we are then frowned upon at as some type of threat to society. An example of this given is from the book Tess of the Durbyvilles, the character Tess is living in a panopticon because her society is based in a time where she is suppose to have a husband, but her society gossips about her because she has a baby out of wedlock. People looked at her as abnormal because she did not follow the moral structure they are used to. No one bothered to ask any questions they only assumed she was different which is something they did not like. This panopticon serves a good purpose even though it focuses soley on discipline and power. Although we are being watched everyday, if we did not have discipline then our society would not function well, and we would be among murders, thieves, and would fear for our lives. We are among criminals now but because we have institutions to tame them and force them to be a part of society or if they choose not to be then they are kept away from the perfect society we are constantly trying to form and improve. Although we are under power of the panopticon, we are given a sense of protection within our society and therefore we are willing to accept the control we are under.

Compare and Contrast Huckleberry Finn and to Kill a...

9/12/2012 American Studies II Comparing and Contrasting: To Kill a Mockingbird and Huckleberry Finn In the books, The Adventures Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird, the authors demonstrate several themes: the coexistence of good and evil, the importance of moral education, the existence of social inequality, racism and slavery, intellectual and moral education, and the hypocrisy of â€Å"civilized† society. The common themes throughout the two books depict; that although the settings are nearly a century apart, society has not changed as drastically as believed. Racism, a main theme throughout both books reveals itself in many ways. The Adventures†¦show more content†¦Despite the fact that she is a lot younger, she grasps the situation better than her older brother who seems to fall apart at the concept of human evil. The Mockingbird had become something symbolic in the story. The mockingbird represents innocence and portrays itself through several different characters in the story; such as Scout Finch or Boo Radley. Despite their innocence however, they can be injured with their contact with evil. In the story, it’s explained how Boo Radley’s innocence is tainted because of his abusive father. Thus the extended metaphor or symbolism would explain that killing a mockingbird is tainting innocence. When Scout inquires her, Miss Maudie explains, â€Å"Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but . . . sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.† This also links the connection of Scout and Jem both having the last name finch, which is another name for a particularly small (and also harmless) bird. In Huckleberry Finn, Huck comes from the lower levels of white society, having a father who is a drunk who disappears constantly. Widow Douglas adopts him and attempts to reform him, although she has difficulties. Huck does not accept the ways of society, and often tells Widow that he would rather go live in hell for a change of scenery. The Widow tries to teach him how to read and tries to make him religious. Although the Widow’s efforts do finally teachShow MoreRelatedHow To Write Literary Analysis4174 Words   |  17 PagesGood Questions â€Å"Are Romeo and Juliet’s parents responsible for the deaths of their children?† â€Å"Why do pigs keep showing up in Lord of the Flies?† â€Å"Are Dr. Frankenstein and his monster alike? How?† Bad Questions â€Å"What happens to Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird?† â€Å"What do the other characters in Julius Caesar think about Caesar?† â€Å"How does Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter remind me of my sister?† Step 2. Collect Evidence Once you know what question you want to answer, it’s time to scour theRead MoreJasper Jones Study Guide6848 Words   |  28 Pages................................................................................... 10 Race and Ethnicity................................................................................................................................. 11 To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM)................................................................................................................ 12 Australian Culture ...................................................................................................Read MoreEnglish All Semester 26504 Words   |  27 Pagestownspeople saw her boyfriend/husband? The last time the townspeople was Miss Emily’s boyfriend/husband was three days after the cousins left. 13. Why had the men sprinkled lime around her house in Part II? The men sprinkled lime around the house to kill the bad odor that was coming out of Miss Emily’s house. 14. There is a room upstairs no one has seen for over forty years. After Miss Emilys funeral, the door to this room is broken down. What do the townspeople find there? The townspeopleRead MoreEssay on Silent Spring - Rachel Carson30092 Words   |  121 PagesAnalysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.  ©1998-2002;  ©2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design ® and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under licenseRead MoreInterpretation of the Text13649 Words   |  55 Pagesdiffers from other kinds of writing - expressive, persuasive, and expository. Expressive writing aims to articulate the feelings of the writer; persuas ive writing seeks co influence the reader; expository writing tries to explain the outer world. By contrast, a work of literature creates a world of its own which makes no reference to the real world as we normally know it, thus it is not expository writing. Nor is it quite the same as persuasive writing - a work of fiction makes no direct appeal to us