the hidden stories in the U.S. census and how to read them Bouk, Dan 1980- creator text bibliography nyu 2023 First paperback edition monographic eng

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xii, 362 pages : illustrations, maps, facsimiles ; 21 cm The census isn't just a data-collection process; it's a ritual, and a tool, of American democracy. Behind every neat grid of numbers is a collage of messy, human stories--you just have to know how to read them. In Democracy's Data, the data historian Dan Bouk examines the 1940 U.S. census, uncovering what those numbers both condense and cleverly abstract: a universe of meaning and uncertainty, of cultural negotiation and political struggle. He introduces us to the men and women employed as census takers, bringing us with them as they go door to door, recording the lives of their neighbors. He takes us into the makeshift halls of the Census Bureau, where hundreds of civil servants, not to mention machines, labored with pencil and paper to divide and conquer the nation's data. And he uses these little points to paint bigger pictures, such as of the ruling hand of white supremacy, the place of queer people in straight systems, and the struggle of ordinary people to be seen by the state as they see themselves-- Stories in the data -- The question men -- Names and negotiations -- Partners -- Counting with friends -- Silences and white supremacy -- Uncle Sam v. Senator Tobey -- The inventory and the arsenal -- The data's depths. Dan Bouk. Includes bibliographical references and index. n-us--- United States Census History Estados Unidos Censo Historia HA 181 B762d 2023 317.3 9781250872173 (pbk.) 1250872170 (pbk.) 2022019954 LBSOR/DLC 220616 20250528165456.0 22659973 eng