Chinatown and Leicester Square in Light of Ethnographic Analysis Essay

Chinatown and Leicester Square in Light of Ethnographic Analysis - Essay Example Over time, the larger part of the Chinese minority in London came to be concentrated in the Limehouse district, in an area known as Chinatown these days. Swarming with gambling dens and opium dens, it used to be perceived as a place with high rates of crime, violence and haplessness by the majority of London inhabitants at the time. Nevertheless there is no doubt it did promote economic prosperity. Leicester Square derives its name from Robert Sidney, second Earl of Leicester, born in 1595, who acquired land in the area for his housing development project in 1630 and 1648. In its early times the area was a residential place for prominent foreigners such as artists and craftsmen and also ambassadors and royalty. The 19th century saw the boom of cafes, entertainment and clubs. To all this, cinema was added early on in the 20th century, competing against and eventually gaining prevalence over other forms of entertainment. The movie sector remains strongly tied-up with the place up to this day. (Sheppard, 1966). In 2002, the City Council adopted the Leicester Square Action Plan, following widespread public consultation (Westminster City Council, 2009). Present condition It is interesting to note that while the Chinese community is open to all influences of the country they are living in, yet they do not appear to lose the distinct characteristics of their own culture. Distinctive marks of that culture are felt in architecture, design, behaviour and in nearly ever every item of daily usage. In 2005 the property development agency Rosewheel ran by Richard Bowen announced plans to redevelop the western portion of Chinatown to make it still more suitable for tourism and for leisure activities, such as dining out. As part of the plan, roads are to be pedestrianized and shop fronts extended into the roads so as to transform the place into something new, thus bringing another kind of businesses into the picture. As is apparent from their reactions, the present property owners and tenants in the area feel strongly opposed to the prospected changes, as some of them would get evicted, while others fear the expected rise of rent in the area. Approximately 20 local businesses are going to close and 200 people lose their jobs in the process. That is why the Chinese community took defensive action, citing community figurehead Jabez Lam on their website, who says he believes that "Rosewheel is determined to put hundreds of shopkeepers and employees out of work. [The redevelopment] w ill break up the social fabric of those working, living and visiting the area." (DimSum, 2009). Chinatown derives substantial benefits from the grey economy, as evidenced by Paul Kingsnorth in his Guardian article: "Jabez wants to show me something. He walks me around the corner to Gerrard Street, where he points to a dingy staircase. To one side is a red plaque with gold Chinese lettering on it. 'This used to be a brothel,' he says with a slight smile. 'Now

Sociology Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sociology Paper - Essay Example In the reading, â€Å"making sense of the senseless: understanding genocide†, the authors begin with a statement that solidifies their greater purpose. That is, â€Å"all genocides are horrific, but not all genocides are the same. they can arise from cold-blooded calculations, realistic fears instincts for revenge, or ideologies of purification. understanding-and perhaps forestalling- genocide requires clear distinctions,† (Chirot & Edwards, p.406). A clear distinction to be made would be that, while genocide and the wars that come about are horrid, their root causes can differ to varying degrees, by what caused them in the first place. The inner meaning of the text, as written by Daniel Chirot and Jennifer Edwards, is to consider the frightening human atrocities of such events as the ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia in the 1990s, as well as the extermination of the Jewish people during World War II, along with Rwanda, but to look at them through the means in which they were initiated. â€Å"The inevitable comparisons of these recent atrocities to those of the past, most notably the Holocaust, are highly controversial. Classifying an event as a genocide can be used to legitimate the claims of survivors or as justification for reprisals against perpetrators. Therefore, several questions about genocide should be considered: (1) How successful does an attempted â€Å"cleansing† of a group need to be to warrant classification as genocide? (2) Does a certain number or percentage of a population need to be killed? (3) Does the intent of the perpetrators make any difference? (4) Should the term genocide be reserved for the murder and expulsion of religious or ethnic minority groups or can political dissidents or enemies in war be victims of genocide?† (Chirot & Edwards, p.406). The subjective facts listed within the article would be the tendency of many to want to classify any form of