Symbolic Interactionism in Sidewalk Culture

Symbolic Interactionism in Sidewalk culture of "Sidewalk" by Mitchell Duneier

Mitchell Duneier's "Sidewalk" provides a descriptive, narrative, and ethnographic view of "sidewalk culture" in contemporary American society. Generating data and information from in-depth interviews and participant observation of housed and unhoused vendors and scavengers in the streets of New York City, Duneier sought to identify the process by which "informal structures" within sidewalk culture are created, developed, and perpetuated. His discussion and analyses of this qualitative information reflects the paradigm of symbolic interactionism as the dominant perspective at which sidewalk culture, its nature, and its dynamics can be viewed.

Symbolic interactionism, a sociological paradigm developed primarily by the sociologist George Herbert Mead, posits that culture, organizations, and social structures are created through daily communications and interactions among people. Moreover, symbolic interactionism also takes into account the emergence of patterns and rules that govern social interaction within a particular society or community. "Sidewalk" provides analyses that show how social interaction between the sidewalk vendors and people who frequent the places these vendors are stationed or situated are conducted, and these are demonstrated through the narratives and documentation of the experiences of the vendors and scavengers in these New York sidewalks.

An important point that the book discusses the potential importance of his study, since it documents a particular phenomenon in American society wherein social structures are built and developed informally, as opposed to the common notion that people hold when, for example, conducting business in the city. This is an important feature of symbolic interactionism, since structures are formed or created based on social interactions alone. Duneier describes the creation of an informal structure, which characterizes sidewalk culture, in the story of Hakim Hasan. Hasan, as well as other vendors and scavengers in New York sidewalks, and their customers make up the members of the so-called sidewalk culture. Within this sidewalk culture, patterns of interaction emerge. An example would be Hasan's role not only as a vendor, but also as a conversationalist for his customers, discussing topics that pertain to or about the merchandise that he sells, which are second-hand books.

A second feature that reflects symbolic interactionism in sidewalk culture as determined by the author is the assignment of specific roles by its members, and this is illustrated in the story of Alice, the tradebooks and popular pocketbooks vendor, and Hasan, the "black books" seller. Both are book vendors, yet, in the sidewalk culture, Hasan maintains a more personal relationship with his customers, letting their business transaction go beyond the purchase of books to discussing issues that his customers may deem important for them to discuss with him (Hasan).