E J Levy
Biographic Data
| ID | 58089 |
|---|---|
| NAME | E J Levy |
| GIVEN NAMES | E J |
| FAMILY NAME | Levy |
| SIGNATURE | LEVY E J |
| AFFILIATIONS | The University of Texas at Austin |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1096-0905 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 8 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 8 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1954 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Why Ethnography
What kind of knowledge does ethnography afford? Why do we need such knowledge? This paper draws upon the authors’ individual work to reflect on the ongoing necessity of good enough ethnographic fieldwork in sociology. Alongside presenting moving stories, unearthing rules of behavior, interpreting meanings through thick description, obtaining fine-grained insight into the working of organizations, revealing the complex interplay of informal and fo…
Opportunities and Alliances: The Relational Dynamics of Criminal Collusion in Latin America
Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Mexico and judicial wiretap analysis in Argentina, this paper shows that collusion between state actors and violent non‐state actors operates through fluid and competitive relational networks rather than stable hierarchies or fixed institutional arrangements. In Mexico, private security entrepreneurs broker ties between public officials, clients, and violent specialists, particularly during periods of electoral …
Trusting your guardian: Relational Trust in High-Risk Services
In markets characterized by informality and weak institutional guarantees, cultural solutions play a crucial role in helping actors assess, manage, and foster trust. This ethnographic study examines how participants in Mexico City's private security sector use symbolic signaling, stigma management, and relational work to evaluate and establish trust in high-risk exchanges. Based on 6 months of fieldwork and 42 interviews with stakeholders, the st…
Aligning Valuations: Preservation Experts and the Values of Historic Heritage in Post-Disaster Mexico
Looking Right, Looking Busy: The Vigilant Body and the Production of Performative Surveillance in Private Security
How do security guards use their bodies to produce vigilance? Complementing the scholarly interest in technological advancements in security and remote surveillance, this research examines the concept of the vigilant body -an idealized disposition where physical appearance and performance shape how surveillance workers produce vigilance. By studying security guards, I argue that visible vigilance is a relational co-production, where guards' bodie…
Hybrid Interpersonal Violence in Latin America: Patterns and Causes
In this review, we argue that to understand patterns and causes of violence in contemporary Latin America, we must explicitly consider when violence takes on interpersonal qualities. We begin by reviewing prominent definitions and measurements of interpersonal violence. We then detail the proliferation of interlocking sources of regional insecurity, including gender-based violence, gangs, narcotrafficking, vigilantism, and political corruption. T…
Legacy work: Three strategies of adversarial meaning-making of historical characters
Bibliographie Bouddhique, XXI-XXIII
Hybrid Interpersonal Violence in Latin America: Patterns and Causes
In this review, we argue that to understand patterns and causes of violence in contemporary Latin America, we must explicitly consider when violence takes on interpersonal qualities. We begin by reviewing prominent definitions and measurements of interpersonal violence. We then detail the proliferation of interlocking sources of regional insecurity, including gender-based violence, gangs, narcotrafficking, vigilantism, and political corruption. T…
Bibliographie Bouddhique, XXI-XXIII
Legacy work: Three strategies of adversarial meaning-making of historical characters
Hybrid Interpersonal Violence in Latin America: Patterns and Causes
In this review, we argue that to understand patterns and causes of violence in contemporary Latin America, we must explicitly consider when violence takes on interpersonal qualities. We begin by reviewing prominent definitions and measurements of interpersonal violence. We then detail the proliferation of interlocking sources of regional insecurity, including gender-based violence, gangs, narcotrafficking, vigilantism, and political corruption. T…
Trusting your guardian: Relational Trust in High-Risk Services
In markets characterized by informality and weak institutional guarantees, cultural solutions play a crucial role in helping actors assess, manage, and foster trust. This ethnographic study examines how participants in Mexico City's private security sector use symbolic signaling, stigma management, and relational work to evaluate and establish trust in high-risk exchanges. Based on 6 months of fieldwork and 42 interviews with stakeholders, the st…
Aligning Valuations: Preservation Experts and the Values of Historic Heritage in Post-Disaster Mexico
Looking Right, Looking Busy: The Vigilant Body and the Production of Performative Surveillance in Private Security
How do security guards use their bodies to produce vigilance? Complementing the scholarly interest in technological advancements in security and remote surveillance, this research examines the concept of the vigilant body -an idealized disposition where physical appearance and performance shape how surveillance workers produce vigilance. By studying security guards, I argue that visible vigilance is a relational co-production, where guards' bodie…
Why Ethnography
What kind of knowledge does ethnography afford? Why do we need such knowledge? This paper draws upon the authors’ individual work to reflect on the ongoing necessity of good enough ethnographic fieldwork in sociology. Alongside presenting moving stories, unearthing rules of behavior, interpreting meanings through thick description, obtaining fine-grained insight into the working of organizations, revealing the complex interplay of informal and fo…
Opportunities and Alliances: The Relational Dynamics of Criminal Collusion in Latin America
Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Mexico and judicial wiretap analysis in Argentina, this paper shows that collusion between state actors and violent non‐state actors operates through fluid and competitive relational networks rather than stable hierarchies or fixed institutional arrangements. In Mexico, private security entrepreneurs broker ties between public officials, clients, and violent specialists, particularly during periods of electoral …
Ethnography (3 works) · Negotiation (3 works) · Sociology (3 works) · Crime Patterns and Interventions (2 works) · Cross-cultural psychology (2 works) · Latin Americans (2 works) · Law (2 works) · Law (2 works) · Philosophy (2 works) · Philosophy (2 works)