Encounters with Outsiders: An Examination of White Habitus in a Gang Intervention Site

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorEcklund, Elaine H
dc.contributor.committeeMemberEmerson, Michael O
dc.contributor.committeeMemberChavez, Sergio
dc.creatorGarcia, Adriana Lizette
dc.date.accessioned2016-02-04T15:48:32Z
dc.date.available2016-02-04T15:48:32Z
dc.date.created2015-05
dc.date.issued2015-04-17
dc.date.submittedMay 2015
dc.date.updated2016-02-04T15:48:32Z
dc.description.abstractAlthough law enforcement agencies have utilized incarceration as a means of incapacitation, mass incarceration has not made great strides in impeding gang entry. In response, religious and nonprofit organizations have created community programs and assessment-based approaches to gang intervention and prevention. Few studies have examined the various ways volunteers implement such interventions to a contemporary social problem. Drawing on two years of ethnographic research (2012-2014) as well as 27 semi-structured interviews, this thesis examines how affluent, white mainline Protestant volunteers construct and participate in gang intervention work. I argue that the gang intervention volunteers possess a “white habitus” which inhibits their encounters with gang-affiliated youth. This white habitus, described as predispositions which condition whites’ racial tastes and views on racial matters, informs their perceptions about gang culture in a way that either reproduces whiteness or leads to an unsuccessful relationship between mentor and mentee. Instead, volunteers create “reaffirmed outsiders”, as they reapply stereotypes and generalizations and offer limited perspective on gang intervention solutions. These results provide a more nuanced account of gang intervention implementation and just as importantly, of race and its pernicious effects on the everyday efforts of well-intentioned people and programs.
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationGarcia, Adriana Lizette. "Encounters with Outsiders: An Examination of White Habitus in a Gang Intervention Site." (2015) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/88350">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/88350</a>.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/88350
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.
dc.subjectgang intervention
dc.subjectrace
dc.subjectwhite habitus
dc.titleEncounters with Outsiders: An Examination of White Habitus in a Gang Intervention Site
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialText
thesis.degree.departmentSociology
thesis.degree.disciplineSocial Sciences
thesis.degree.grantorRice University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
GARCIA-DOCUMENT-2015.pdf
Size:
642.32 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
PROQUEST_LICENSE.txt
Size:
5.84 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
LICENSE.txt
Size:
2.61 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
Collections
Rice University Electronic Theses and Dissertations