Dark Ghetto: Dilemmas of Social Power

Rating:
Summary: A deeply penetrating psychological account
Review: Dr. Clark has struck a sensitive nerve in the consciousness of a nation in his 1965 study of black neighborhoods. Revised in 1989 with an introduction by William Julius Wilson, and a foreword by Gunnar Myrdal, it is apparent that other scholars respect Clark's work as well. I was particularly impressed by the self-honesty of his methodology -- he calls it his "involved observer" method, which shows much more concern for the subjects of the study than traditional "disinterested observer" approaches, espoused by so-called "value-free" social scientists. Also recommended are other books by Clark, and most anything by Cornel West, Lewis R. Gordon, Allen Spear, and Alex Kotlowitz. A related book to "Dark Ghetto" is "Racism & Psychiatry," by Alexander Thomas and Samuel Sillen, with an introduction by K. Clark.

Rating:
Summary: A deeply penetrating psychological account
Review: Dr. Clark has struck a sensitive nerve in the consciousness of a nation in his 1965 study of black neighborhoods. Revised in 1989 with an introduction by William Julius Wilson, and a foreword by Gunnar Myrdal, it is apparent that other scholars respect Clark's work as well. I was particularly impressed by the self-honesty of his methodology -- he calls it his "involved observer" method, which shows much more concern for the subjects of the study than traditional "disinterested observer" approaches, espoused by so-called "value-free" social scientists. Also recommended are other books by Clark, and most anything by Cornel West, Lewis R. Gordon, Allen Spear, and Alex Kotlowitz. A related book to "Dark Ghetto" is "Racism & Psychiatry," by Alexander Thomas and Samuel Sillen, with an introduction by K. Clark.