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J. Rhodes Haverty Lecture and author book signing scheduled for Thursday, October 23, 2008

9/26/2008

Sudhir Venkatesh, Ph.D., professor of sociology at Columbia University, is the speaker for the J. Rhodes Haverty Lecture on Thursday, October 23, 2008 at 7:00 pm.  Venkatesh will speak on the underground economics of poor communities.  He is best known for his new book Gang Leader for a Day, which has received considerable attention in the press including reviews in the New York Times, Atlanta Journal Constitution, and San Francisco Chronicle.  Venkatesh has also appeared on National Public Radio, PBS, and a variety of news talk shows.

Venkatesh will sign his book during a reception following the lecture.  The event is free but reservations are necessary and can be made by calling 404-413-1100 or emailing chhs@gsu.edu.

As a graduate student, Venkatesh spent seven years researching gang life in Chicago’s Robert Taylor Homes, one of the nation’s most notorious housing projects.  He infiltrated the gang by innocently walking into the projects and asking people what it felt like to be poor.  The gang members who occupied the projects thought his approach was hilarious but threatened his life.  When the gang leader, J.T., came along and put a stop to their plans, Venkatesh realized he had both a contact and a subject for his research.

J.T. provided Venkatesh with unusual access to the inner workings of the gang.  However, Venkatesh also received access to non-gang member residents of the projects and gained insight into how gangs are both a dangerous nuisance and a benefit to these poor communities.

In addition to the book, Gang Leader for a Day, Venkatesh is the author of several other publications on urban poverty and gangs, including Off the Books: The Underground Economy of the Urban Poor and American Project: The Rise and Fall of a Modern Ghetto.

Venkatesh received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.  He was a Junior Fellow at the Society of Fellows, Harvard University from 1996-1999. He is currently Director of the Center for Urban Research and Policy and Director of the Charles H. Revson Fellowship Program, both at Columbia University.