Compare the depictions of young black men in Orlando Patterson’s “A Poverty of the Mind” and Alice Goffman’s On the Run. Compare them both methodologically (what data is presented? How was it collected? Does it seem well-researched?) and theoretically (what theory is used to explain the data? What are the implications of the theory? What solutions do the theory point to?) When discussing Goffman, take into the account both the men “on the run” and the men described as having avoided legal troubles as described in chapter 7, “Clean People.” What do we learn from both groups?
