Article Review Social Sciences Article Research Paper (Article Sample)

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Reflection of Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago
Eric Klinenberg dissects through the social structure of the city while examining the political, institutional and social organs of the city during the 1995 Chicago heat wave. He calls this the “social autopsy,” a title suggestively useful in describing his research methods and a horrific event. The author theorizes that the social structure of this city could have made the disaster worse and brought about more deaths. In the analysis that he calls autopsy, he begins with simple facts as to why various individuals were alone at the time of their deaths and why there was a greater mortality rate in some neighborhoods than others. Further inquisitions include the responses from the city government on the crisis, and how public officials, journalists, and scientists explained and reported the events and their influence. Klinenberg’s research includes extensive reviews, archival research and years of fieldwork. Among his discoveries include several unsettling and surprising forms of social breakdowns that includes the social and literal alienation of seniors, public assistant programs retrenchment and poor neighborhoods being marginalized by institutions. These largely contributed to the high number of deaths.