Vasilika Ernestine Friedl's 1962 text Vasilika: a Village in Modern Greece discusses an anthropological case study which showcases how one city in Greece was evolved from its ancient origin and compares to other modern cities in the country. Vasilika in Boeotia, Greece has a population of 216 people and consequently the interactions between the individual members of the village are intricately connected to one another, but are also limited by the sociology and architecture of the location. Greece is a nation which has existed for centuries and yet the city of Vasilika is still mostly the same as it was before the advent of modern technologies. One of the most important aspects of community-building that Friedl discusses is the random orientation of the building constructions in the village. Unlike some recently designed cities, the random conflagration ensured that the stone materials used and the random spacing severely limited "the ability of the members of any village household to see directly what is happening in more than two or three neighborhood houses" (Friedl 13). The author compares this to a game of hide and seek, where there actually are secrets and discretion between neighbors.

In the book, author Friedl, instead of using more quantitative methodologies,...

This makes her book very interesting and it is obvious from her in-depth observation that she spent a lot of time with her subjects and did her all to provide as unbiased a report on her observations as possible. However, given that her analysis was based entirely on observation, her research is purely subjective. The kind of in-depth observation that was required put her too closely in contact with her subject matter and therefore, her intimate knowledge provides the breeding ground for biases.
The book traces Vasilika and, through the observation techniques of the researcher to find truth not only about the people of the village, but also to apply those observations to the larger world. Vasilika is comprised largely of persons of low-income, who Friedl makes particular effort not to refer to as "peasants" because of a derogatory connotation which has nothing to do with the characteristics of this group of people (6). Her careful consideration of terminologies and the attempt to eradicate preconceived notions which such terms bring about is important because she is trying to remove bias, but…