As Ida Susser writes in reference to Belmonte's Broken Fountain, "good ethnographies have long lives." This classic of urban anthropology, one of the most acclaimed ethnographies of recent years, offers vivid, literary descriptions of Fontana del Re, an impoverished Neapolitan neighborhood. Belmonte documents the struggles of Neapolitans surrounded by crumbling buildings and economic insecurity. He details family dynamics as well as the working of Naples's informal economy, the day-to-day struggle for economic subsistence, and the intermittent begging and thieving of the young. Taking us from the bustling, vibrant, and gritty streets and alleyways of Naples to the kitchen tables of poor Neapolitan homes, Belmonte resists simplistic depictions of the poor. Instead, he presents subtle, compelling portraits and analyses that capture the emotional, social, and economic lives of his subjects.
In addition to the continuing relevance of his insights into the effects of poverty, Belmonte's willingness to reflect on his own reactions and emotions while in the field has influenced a generation of scholars. In The Broken Fountain, he poignantly describes the experience of living alone in a strange urban environment and his interactions with the residents of Fontana del Re.
This edition includes a foreword by Ida Susser and an afterword by Pellegrino D'Acierno and Stanislao G. Pugliese.
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: The Broken Fountain in Retrospect
- Foreword: The Anthropologist as Humanist
- 1. Paean to the City
- 2. Fieldwork in Naples
- 3. The Neapolitan Personal Style
- 4. Tragedies of Fellowship and Community
- 5. Family Life-Worlds
- 6. The Interpretation of Family Feeling
- 7. The Triumvirate of Want
- 8. Reactions to a Disordered World
- 9. Conclusion: ThePoor of Naples and the World Underclass
- Epilogue: Return to Naples
- Notes
- Afterword: Dangerous Supplement
- Index
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