Deciphers typical social practices as a hidden language of communication in urban plebeian society

Introduction: The Subalterns Speak Out; Gerasim and the Infamous
Writing Degree Zero, and Beyond: Reading Social Practices between the Lines
The Middle Volga City as the Middle Ground: Urban Plebeian Society
The Patriarchal Metropolis: Trespassing Social Barriers in Late Imperial Vilna
"We Only Kill Each Other": The Anthropology of Deadly Violence and Contested Intergroup Boundaries
The Transformative Social Experience of Illegality
Epilogue: Gerasim in Power; A Plebeian Modernity
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index