Managing Risk on the Street: Forging Alliances and Building Trust
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC 271
Start Date
21-5-2015
End Date
21-5-2015
Keywords
Alliances, Trust, Respect
Abstract
At night in San Diego’s historic Gaslamp district, street performers, or buskers, can be found trying to capture the attention of passersby, as they make their way to the nearest restaurant or nightclub. These buskers work for tips on crowded sidewalks adjacent to corporate entertainment venues. This ethnographic study explores how buskers in the Gaslamp forge alliances with those they share the streets with, including night club promoters, bouncers, passersby, and cab drivers. These alliances are both actively sought out and inactively acquired. Through participant observation, direct observation, and interviews, I explored how gifting and creating networks of trust can help buskers manage risk and earn respect. How do buskers benefit from alliances formed within this corporate controlled environment, yet still maintain their independence from it?
Recommended Citation
Matson, Hillary, "Managing Risk on the Street: Forging Alliances and Building Trust" (2015). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 48.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2015/oralpresentations/48
Department/Program
Individual Studies
Additional Mentoring Department
Anthropology & Museum Studies
Managing Risk on the Street: Forging Alliances and Building Trust
SURC 271
At night in San Diego’s historic Gaslamp district, street performers, or buskers, can be found trying to capture the attention of passersby, as they make their way to the nearest restaurant or nightclub. These buskers work for tips on crowded sidewalks adjacent to corporate entertainment venues. This ethnographic study explores how buskers in the Gaslamp forge alliances with those they share the streets with, including night club promoters, bouncers, passersby, and cab drivers. These alliances are both actively sought out and inactively acquired. Through participant observation, direct observation, and interviews, I explored how gifting and creating networks of trust can help buskers manage risk and earn respect. How do buskers benefit from alliances formed within this corporate controlled environment, yet still maintain their independence from it?
Faculty Mentor(s)
Mark Auslander