DOCSLIB.ORG

The Middle-Class African American Home: Its Objects and Their Meanings Carol Lynnette Hall Iowa State University

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2004 The middle-class African American home: its objects and their meanings Carol Lynnette Hall Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the African American Studies Commons, American Studies Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Home Economics Commons, and the Race and Ethnicity Commons Recommended Citation Hall, Carol Lynnette, "The middle-class African American home: its objects and their meanings " (2004). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 783. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/783 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The middle-class African American home: Its objects and their meanings by Carol Lynnette Hall A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Textiles and Clothing Program of Study Committee Mary Lynn Damhorst, Major Professor Mary Littrell Ann Marie Fiore Christine Cook Chalandra Bryant Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2004 Copyright © Carol Lynnette Hall, 2004. All rights reserved. UMI Number: 3136316 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 3136316 Copyright 2005 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ii Graduate College Iowa State University This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation of Carol Lynnette Hall has met the dissertation requirements of Iowa State University Signature was redacted for privacy. ij Professor Signature was redacted for privacy. For the Major Prog iii DEDICATION As the tears well up in my eyes, I am thrilled to dedicate my dissertation to my Daddy, Mr. David Wilbert Hall, and my Moma, Mrs. Lillie Dorothy Hall. Words cannot express the unwavering support you guys gave me from the very beginning of my journey at Iowa State University. Thank you for encouraging me to persevere and fight to the end! As the tears now flow from my eyes, I also thank both of you, and God, for your continuous, tremendous support, and giving me the opportunity to pursue and complete this academic experience and degree. Thank you for never letting me give up my dream (which was "our" dream) of earning a doctorate when times looked bleak and hopeless. Thank you for helping me spread my wings and soar to higher heights. Thank you so, so, so much for helping me, Moma and Daddy! I am also happy to dedicate my dissertation to the nine families who eagerly participated in this study. Thank you for opening your homes to me, and contributing to an understanding of the meaning of home and its objects from a middle-class, African American perspective. This study would not have been possible without you guys. And a very special thank you to Mrs. Barbara Oliver Hall and Ron Fuller for locating and identifying a number of prospective families for my study when I was desperately searching for participants. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 Background 1 Purpose 2 Socioeconomic Status 3 Middle-Class Socioeconomic Status 8 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 12 Marriage 12 The Egalitarian Arrangement 14 Preparing children to confront and combat racism 16 Fit of African American Families in U.S. Society 17 Demographic Trends 19 Iowa Demographic Trends 21 Religion 23 The familial aspect of religion 24 The spiritual aspect of religion 25 Addressing Aesthetics 27 Addressing Aesthetics in the African American Home 28 Theoretical Framework 33 House and Home 33 Symbolic Interaction Theory 38 Self 39 Looking glass self 41 Extended self 42 Identities 42 Role 43 Family life cycle 44 Significant others 45 Meanings and Symbols 45 Objects in the Home and their Meaning 46 Setting/Definition of the Situation 51 Research Questions 52 CHAPTER THREE: METHOD 54 Research Approach 54 Case Study 55 Grounded Theory 58 Participants 59 Procedure 60 Data Analysis 65 V Trustworthiness 67 The Researcher 69 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 76 Background Demographic 76 Housing History 79 Description of Home 81 Emergent Categories 83 Open family life 83 Personal spaces within the home 86 Homes and objects reflecting family relations 86 Decorating the home 90 Disposal 93 De-emphasizing status, emphasizing practicality 97 Accomplishments 100 Utilitarian 102 Uniqueness 103 Memories 105 Hedonics 109 Textiles and clothing 110 Two Overarching Emergent Categories 111 African American ethnicity issues 111 African American religion 116 CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 119 African American Ethnicity Issues 120 African American Religion 123 Usefulness of the Theories 124 Limitations 127 Recommendations for Future Research 128 APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 131 APPENDIX B: LETTERS AND CONSENT FORMS 133 APPENDIX C: CODING GUIDE 141 APPENDIX D: HUMAN SUBJECT REVIEW 145 REFERENCES 152 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 160 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background The topic of relationships between people and home interiors has gained popularity in recent years. Traditionally and historically, anthropologists were the primary scholars studying this phenomenon. Today, psychologists, architects, sociologists, and geographers are also studying this area (which is called environmental psychology). From their diverse fields, they share the same goal to address how "the home interior, in its physical as well as symbolic qualities, is the central aspect of human experience" (Rullo, 1987, p. 250). They also share the goal of addressing how the home interior "provides a unique opportunity for understanding the experience of 'dwelling,' or a person's intimate interaction with objects, spaces, and persons in the home" (Rullo, 1987, p. 250). Duncan (1981) and Altman and Werner (1985) have been instrumental in making contributions to the field of environmental psychology on the topic of the meanings of home. Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton's (1981) work has focused on peoples' feelings about their homes, its objects and their meanings. Home is described as a "window to a culture" (Gauvain, Altman, & Fahim, 1984, p. 211). The layout of home and its decorative choices tend to mirror or compliment differences in culture, lifestyle, and social structure (Giuliani, 1987). The home, in terms of personal meaning in addition to an experience, represents the site and center of an individual's place identity, connection, and sense of belonging (Rullo, 1987). Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton's (1981) study of the meanings of domestic objects 2 supports the fact that the home's interior is a closer depiction of the dweller's personalities than any other aspect of the home. Regardless of the exterior architectural style (such as, bungalow, mansion, hut, apartment, or townhouse) of peoples' homes, they construct the interior of their homes by using a variety of materials, objects, consumer goods, and convenience products. Many of these items include textiles designed specifically for the home. Home textiles include window treatments, curtains, draperies, fabric wallpaper, bed and bath linens, upholstered furniture, pillows and cushions, carpeting and rugs, fiber arts and other textile-related decorative objects. Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the sense of self African American families convey in their homes. The sense of self under study is related particularly to culture, identities, beliefs, roles, and interests. By viewing the homes of middle-class African American families and talking to them about their homes and household objects, the researcher strived to gain an understanding of the aesthetic themes employed to decorate their homes, the significance of their homes, and those objects deemed of particular importance to the family. Among those objects, the researcher was especially interested in those made of textile materials—namely, home textile objects. Also of exploration was the symbiotic relationship between the family, home, and the meanings of things in the home. In addition, characteristics of the family in connection to this relationship were also considered. 3 The phenomena studied was how middle-class African American families express themselves and construct their identities through the objects in their homes, including textile-related objects, and the meanings these things hold for them. However, little research of this kind has been conducted to understand a symbiotic relationship between the family, home, and the meaning of things in the home. No existing research of this kind known to the researcher has been conducted on a predominantly
Recommended publications
  • Most Americans Say the Current Economy Is Helping the Rich, Hurting the Poor and Middle Class

    Most Americans Say the Current Economy Is Helping the Rich, Hurting the Poor and Middle Class

    FOR RELEASE December 11, 2019 Most Americans Say the Current Economy Is Helping the Rich, Hurting the Poor and Middle Class Roughly half of lower-income Republicans say current economic conditions are hurting them and their families BY Ruth Igielnik and Kim Parker FOR MEDIA OR OTHER INQUIRIES: Ruth Igielnik, Senior Researcher Kim Parker, Director, Social Trends Research Tanya Arditi, Communications Manager 202.419.4372 www.pewresearch.org RECOMMENDED CITATION Pew Research Center, December, 2019, “Most Americans Say the Economy Is Helping the Rich, Hurting the Poor and Middle Class” 1 PEW RESEARCH CENTER About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It does not take policy positions. The Center conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. It studies U.S. politics and policy; journalism and media; internet, science and technology; religion and public life; Hispanic trends; global attitudes and trends; and U.S. social and demographic trends. All of the Center’s reports are available at www.pewresearch.org. Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. © Pew Research Center 2020 www.pewresearch.org 2 PEW RESEARCH CENTER Most Americans Say the Current Economy Is Helping the Rich, Hurting the Poor and Middle Class Roughly half of lower-income Republicans say current economic conditions are hurting them and their families By many measures, the U.S. economy is doing well. Public gives the economy mixed reviews; most say it’s Unemployment is near a 50- helping the rich, while few say it’s helping them year low, consumer spending % saying economic conditions in the country are … is strong and the stock market is delivering solid returns for investors.
  • Growing Detroit's African-American Middle

    Growing Detroit's African-American Middle

    v GROWING DETROIT’S AFRICAN-AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A PROSPEROUS DETROIT GROWING DETROIT’S AFRICAN-AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A PROSPEROUS DETROIT Photography Tafari Stevenson-Howard 1st Printing: February 2019 GROWING DETROIT’S AFRICAN-AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A PROSPEROUS DETROIT 4 FOREWORD Foreword There’s a simple, universal concept concerning economic, social and educational growth that must be front of mind in planning about enlarging the black middle class: Authentic development and growth require deliberate investment. If we want to see more black people enter the middle class, we must invest in endeavors and interventions that lead to better- paying jobs, affordable housing, efficient transportation and effective schools. Though these amenities will attract middle- class people back to Detroit, the focus on development must be directed at uplifting a greater percentage of current residents so that they have the necessary tools to enter the middle class. Meaning, growing the black middle class in Detroit should not result from pushing low-income people out of the city. One may think a strategy to attract people back into to the city should take priority. White and middle-class flight significantly influenced the concentrations of families who make less than $50,000 in the suburbs (30 percent) and in Detroit (75 percent), according to findings in Detroit Future City’s “139 Square Miles” report. Bringing suburbanites back into the city would alter these percentages, and we most certainly want conditions that are attractive to all middle- class families. However, we also don’t want to return to the realities where the devaluing of low-income and black people hastened the flight to the suburbs.
  • Bangor, Maine, 1880-1920 Sara K

    Bangor, Maine, 1880-1920 Sara K

    The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fogler Library 2001 "The Littleit C y in Itself ": Middle-Class Aspirations in Bangor, Maine, 1880-1920 Sara K. Martin Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd Part of the Human Geography Commons, Social History Commons, and the Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons Recommended Citation Martin, Sara K., ""The Little itC y in Itself": Middle-Class Aspirations in Bangor, Maine, 1880-1920" (2001). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 197. http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/197 This Open-Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. "THE LITTLE CITY IN ITSELF": MIDDLE-CLASS ASPIRATIONS IN BANGOR, MAINE, 1880-1920 By Sara K. Martin Thesis Advisor: Dr. Martha McNamara An Abstract of the Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (in History) December, 2001 This thesis examines the inception and growth of "the Little City in Itself," a residential neighborhood in Bangor, Maine, as a case study of middle-class suburbanization and domestic life in small cities around the turn of the twentieth century. The development of Little City is the story of builders' and residents' efforts to shape a middle-class neighborhood in a small American city, a place distinct from the crowded downtown neighborhoods of immigrants and the elegant mansions of the wealthy. The purpose of this study is to explore builders' response to the aspirations of the neighborhood's residents for home and neighborhood from 1880 to 1920, and thus to provide insight into urban growth and ideals of family life in small American cities.
  • Middle Class Index

    Middle Class Index

    2011Middle Class Index SPONSORS: MEDIA PARTNER: ABOUT MASSINC The Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC) is a non-partisan think tank and civic organization focused on putting the American Dream within the reach of everyone in Massachu- setts. MassINC uses three distinct tools—research, journalism, and civic engagement—to fulfi ll its mission, each characterized by accurate data, careful analysis, and unbiased conclusions. MassINC sees its role not as an advocacy organization, but as a rigorously non-partisan think tank, whose outcomes are measured by the infl uence of its products in helping to guide advocates and civic and policy leaders toward decisions consistent with MassINC’s mission, and in helping to engage citizens in understanding and seeking to infl uence policies that affect their lives. MassINC is a 501(c)3, tax exempt, charitable organization supported by contributions from indi- viduals, corporations, and foundations. MassINC’s work is published for educational purposes. Views expressed in the Institute’s reports are those of the authors and not necessarily those of MassINC’s directors, staff, sponsors, or other advisors. This work should not be construed as an attempt to infl uence any election or legislative action. ABOUT THE AMERICAN DREAM INITIATIVE The American Dream Initiative is a multi-dimensional project that includes the MassINC Middle Class Index, long-form journalism in a special fall issue of CommonWealth magazine, and a major forthcoming research report prepared jointly with the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS MassINC would like to acknowledge Partners Health Care and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts for their generous support of MassINC’s American Dream Initiative.
  • Inside the Middle Class

    Inside the Middle Class

    Inside the Middle Class: Bad Times Hit the Good Life FOR RELEASE WEDNESDAY APRIL 9, 2008 12:00PM EDT Paul Taylor, Project Director Rich Morin, Senior Editor D'Vera Cohn, Senior Writer Richard Fry, Senior Researcher Rakesh Kochhar, Senior Researcher April Clark, Research Associate MEDIA INQUIRIES CONTACT: Pew Research Center 202 419 4372 http://pewresearch.org ii Table of Contents Foreword…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...3 Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………5 Overview……………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………7 Section One – A Self-Portrait 1. The Middle Class Defines Itself ………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………..28 2. The Middle Class Squeeze………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………..…….36 3. Middle Class Finances ……………………………………………………………………………………………….…………….……………………..47 4. Middle Class Priorities and Values………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………….53 5. Middle Class Jobs ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………….65 6. Middle Class Politics…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………71 About the Pew Social and Demographic Trends Project ……………………………………………………….…………………………….78 Questionnaire and topline …………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………..79 Section Two – A Statistical Portrait 7. Middle Income Demography, 1970-2006…………………………………………………………………………………………………………110 8. Trends in Income, Expenditures, Wealth and Debt………………………………………..…………………………………………….140 Section Two Appendix ……………………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………..163
  • Crossing Class Boundaries: Race, Siblings and Socioeconomic Heterogeneity. JCPR Working Paper. INSTITUTION Joint Center for Poverty Research, IL

    Crossing Class Boundaries: Race, Siblings and Socioeconomic Heterogeneity. JCPR Working Paper. INSTITUTION Joint Center for Poverty Research, IL

    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 460 236 UD 034 696 AUTHOR Heflin, Colleen M.; Pattillo, Mary TITLE Crossing Class Boundaries: Race, Siblings and Socioeconomic Heterogeneity. JCPR Working Paper. INSTITUTION Joint Center for Poverty Research, IL. SPONS AGENCY Ford Foundation, New York, NY.; Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL. Inst. for Policy Research. REPORT NO JCPR-WP-252 PUB DATE 2002-01-07 NOTE 23p. AVAILABLE FROM For full text: Lpattillo.pdf. PUB TYPE Reports Research (143) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Blacks; Middle Class; Poverty; *Racial Differences; *Siblings; Social Mobility; *Socioeconomic Status; Whites ABSTRACT This study used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (comprised of three subsamples taken in 1979) to characterize the siblings of middle class and poor Blacks and Whites, testing for racial differences in the probability of having a sibling on the other side of the socioeconomic divide. In support of theories in the urban poverty literature about the social isolation of poor blacks, results found that African Americans were less likely than Whites to have siblings who crossed social lines in w'ays that were beneficial. Low-income African Americans were less likely to have a middle class sibling than were low-income Whites, and middle class African Americans were more likely than middle class Whites to have a low-income sibling. Therefore, low-income African Americans were less likely to have a sibling to turn to for help but more likely to have a sibling to turn to them for assistance if they were middle class. The study results suggest that racial differences in the composition of kin networks may indicate another dimension of racial stratification.
  • The American Middle Class, Income Inequality, and the Strength of Our Economy New Evidence in Economics

    The American Middle Class, Income Inequality, and the Strength of Our Economy New Evidence in Economics

    The American Middle Class, Income Inequality, and the Strength of Our Economy New Evidence in Economics Heather Boushey and Adam S. Hersh May 2012 WWW.AMERICANPROGRESS.ORG The American Middle Class, Income Inequality, and the Strength of Our Economy New Evidence in Economics Heather Boushey and Adam S. Hersh May 2012 Contents 1 Introduction and summary 9 The relationship between a strong middle class, the development of human capital, a well-educated citizenry, and economic growth 23 A strong middle class provides a strong and stable source of demand 33 The middle class incubates entrepreneurs 39 A strong middle class supports inclusive political and economic institutions, which underpin growth 44 Conclusion 46 About the authors 47 Acknowledgements 48 Endnotes Introduction and summary To say that the middle class is important to our economy may seem noncontro- versial to most Americans. After all, most of us self-identify as middle class, and members of the middle class observe every day how their work contributes to the economy, hear weekly how their spending is a leading indicator for economic prognosticators, and see every month how jobs numbers, which primarily reflect middle-class jobs, are taken as the key measure of how the economy is faring. And as growing income inequality has risen in the nation’s consciousness, the plight of the middle class has become a common topic in the press and policy circles. For most economists, however, the concepts of “middle class” or even inequal- ity have not had a prominent place in our thinking about how an economy grows. This, however, is beginning to change.
  • The Mexican Origin Middle Class in Los Angeles

    The Mexican Origin Middle Class in Los Angeles

    December 2009 OF IMM DY IG U R T A S N E T H I T N T R E O G F R R A E T T I O N N E •C CSII • University of Southern California The Mexican Origin Middle Class in Los Angeles Jody Agius Vallejo Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology University of Southern California (USC) CSII F N IMMIGRANT INTEGRATIO CENTER FOR THE STUDY O Contents Introduction 1 The Mexican-Origin 1 Middle Class Pathways of 2 Integration into the Middle Class Family Obligations and 2 Patterns of Financial Support Civic Participation in the 3 Middle-Class Ethnic Community Conclusion 4 Acknowledgements 5 End Notes 5 Special thanks to the photographers who provided the pictures on the front cover from left to right: Kevin Lau, Francisco H Cortés, and Patrick Miller. Introduction The context of the new immigration, especially the growing proportion of America’s population with Latino roots, continues to elicit controversy. Mexicans, by far the largest group of immigrant newcomers, are of particular concern because the majority arrive as unauthorized migrants, have low levels of human capital, and live in poor and working class communities upon arrival. As a result, some scholars and public commentators maintain that Mexican immigrants and their descendants are not following the traditional path of upward mobility into the white middle class, but rather, a trajectory of downward mobility into a permanent underclass. Media reinforces this doom and gloom scenario by portraying the descendants of Mexican immigrants as uneducated gang-bangers in the inner-city where dropping out of high school and teenage pregnancy are the norm.
  • The Dangerous Class: the Concept of the Lumpenproletariat

    The Dangerous Class: the Concept of the Lumpenproletariat

    Review The dangerous class: The concept of the lumpenproletariat Clyde W. Barrow, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 2020, xii+196pp., ISBN: 978-0472132249 Contemporary Political Theory (2021). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41296-021-00487-9 An oft-cited description of the lumpenproletariat comes from Marx’s The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte. The Parisian lumpenproletariat that Louis Bonaparte recruited during the French class struggles of 1848–1851 in order to defeat the proletariat and ultimately to seize state power consisted of the following: Alongside decayed roue´s with dubious means of subsistence and of dubious origin, alongside ruined and adventurous offshoots of the bourgeoisie, were vagabonds, discharged soldiers, discharged jailbirds, escaped galley slaves, swindlers, mountebanks, lazzaroni, pickpockets, tricksters, gamblers, ma- quereaus, brothel keepers, porters, literati, organ grinders, ragpickers, knife grinders, tinkers, beggars – in short, the whole indefinite, disintegrated mass, thrown hither and thither, which the French call la bohe`me (1963: 75). As self-interested hustlers whose services are for sale to the highest bidder, the lumpenproletariat – a term Marx and Engels created – is typically co-opted, as Bonaparte demonstrates, by reactionary movements. However, Marx’s taxonomy indicates the difficulty of locating a synthesized and explanatory definition for a term presented here as an ‘indefinite’ alterity with no clear framework of composition. The term has seemed, to some commentators, incoherent or reflective of scorn toward the disreputable or poor (Bussard, 1987; Draper, 1972; Hardt and Negri, 2004). Others – typically literary and cultural critics (Stallybrass, 1990; Mills, 2017) – have approached it as the discursive trace of a complex social scene that escapes full schematization by class relations.
  • The American Middle Class, Income Inequality, and the Strength of Our Economy New Evidence in Economics

    The American Middle Class, Income Inequality, and the Strength of Our Economy New Evidence in Economics

    The American Middle Class, Income Inequality, and the Strength of Our Economy New Evidence in Economics Heather Boushey and Adam S. Hersh May 2012 WWW.AMERICANPROGRESS.ORG Introduction and summary To say that the middle class is important to our economy may seem noncontro- versial to most Americans. After all, most of us self-identify as middle class, and members of the middle class observe every day how their work contributes to the economy, hear weekly how their spending is a leading indicator for economic prognosticators, and see every month how jobs numbers, which primarily reflect middle-class jobs, are taken as the key measure of how the economy is faring. And as growing income inequality has risen in the nation’s consciousness, the plight of the middle class has become a common topic in the press and policy circles. For most economists, however, the concepts of “middle class” or even inequal- ity have not had a prominent place in our thinking about how an economy grows. This, however, is beginning to change. One reason for the change is that the levels of inequality and the financial stress on the middle class have risen dramatically and have reached levels that motivate a closer investigation. The interaction and concurrence of rising inequality with the financial collapse and the Great Recession have, in particular, raised new issues about whether a weak- ened middle class and rising inequality should be part of our thinking about the drivers of economic growth. Over the past several decades, the United States has undergone a remarkable transformation, with income growth stalling for the middle class while the incomes of those at the top continued to rise dramatically compared to the rest of the working population.
  • Race, Class, and Slavery During the American Civil

    Race, Class, and Slavery During the American Civil

    UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Barbara Previously Published Works Title Marx’s Intertwining of Race and Class During the Civil War in the U.S. Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6238s7h2 Journal Journal of Classical Sociology, 17(1) Author Anderson, Kevin Publication Date 2017 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Marx’s Intertwining of Race and Class During the Civil War in the U.S. Kevin B. Anderson, University of California, Santa Barbara [author’s last version of article published in Journal of Classical Sociology 17:1 (2017), pp. 24-36] As the U.S. marked the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, some attention was given to African-American resistance to slavery and to the northern radical abolitionists. Increasingly, it was admitted, even in the South, that the Confederacy’s supposedly “noble cause” was based upon the defense of slavery. Yet to this day U.S. public opinion continues to deny the race and class dimensions of the war. There is also a denial, sometimes even among critical sociologists, of the war’s revolutionary implications, not only for African-Americans, but also for white labor and for the U.S. economic and political system as a whole. And there is still greater ignorance of the fact that Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote extensively on the dialectics of race and class in the American Civil War, something I have tried to remedy in my recent book, Marx at the Margins: On Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Non-Western Societies. Marx on Ireland: Class, Ethnicity, and National Liberation Sometimes, as I have tried to show in Marx at the Margins, Marx conceptualized the pathway to class-consciousness and to socialist revolution as direct rather than indirect.
  • Mary Pattillo

    Mary Pattillo

    Curriculum Vitae Mary Pattillo Northwestern University Home: 1810 Chicago Avenue 1036 E. 47th Street, #3E Evanston, IL 60208 Chicago, IL 60653 Tel. 847.491.3409; Fax 847.491.9907 [email protected] RESEARCH AND TEACHING AREAS Race and Ethnicity, Urban Sociology, Ethnographic Methods, Housing, Education, Criminal Justice EDUCATION 1997 Ph. D. in Sociology University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 1994 M. A. in Sociology University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 1991 B. A. cum laude in Urban Studies-Sociology Columbia University, New York, NY EMPLOYMENT 2020 - Chair, African American Studies Department 2010 - Harold Washington Professor, Departments of Sociology and African American Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 2004 - Faculty Associate, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University 2006 - 2009 Chair, Department of Sociology 2001 - 2006 Associate to Full Professor, Departments of Sociology and African American Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 2004-2007 Arthur Andersen Research and Teaching Professor, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 2001 - 2002 Chair, African American Studies Department 1998 - 2001 Assistant to Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Department of African American Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 1998 - 2004 Faculty Fellow, Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 1997 - 1998 Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Associate, Poverty Research and Training Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI