Being Homeless

Amir Marvasti is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology at Penn State Altoona.

• Chapter 1 Introduction: Fieldwork and the Research ProblemChapter 2 A Brief History of HomelessnessChapter 3 The Constructive Demography of HomelessnessChapter 4 Literary ConstructionsChapter 5 Ethnographic ConstructionsChapter 6 Abbot House and Its ClientsChapter 7 The Local Demography of HomelessnessChapter 8 Staff Constructions of the ClientChapter 9 Narrative Practice and the Interactive Dynamics of Client WorkChapter 10 Client Constructions of the Shelter and HomelessnessChapter 11 Conclusion: The Lessons of Narrativity

Neither pundits nor the larger society have figured out how to view those without shelter as full human beings. In this sophisticated analysis, Marvasti demonstrates how those labeled 'homeless' are politically and bureaucratically constructed by middle-class people whose interests often do not coincide with those of the homeless.