Working in Class

Recognizing How Social Class Shapes Our Academic Work

By (author) Allison L. Hurst, Sandi Kawecka Nenga

Not available to order

Publication date:

18 January 2016

Length of book:

212 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781475822540

More students today are financing college through debt, but the burdens of debt are not equally shared. The least privileged students are those most encumbered and the least able to repay. All of this has implications for those who work in academia, especially those who are themselves from less advantaged backgrounds. Warnock argues that it is difficult to reconcile the goals of facilitating upward mobility for students from similar backgrounds while being aware that the goals of many colleges and universities stand in contrast to the recruitment and support of these students. This, combined with the fact that campuses are increasingly reliant on adjunct labor, makes it difficult for the contemporary tenure-track or tenured working-class academic to reconcile his or her position in the academy.
This anthology from a variety of disciplines and social locations across academia is a treasure trove of insight, information and practical advice for those four million of us who earn our livings in academe. But more than that it is a window into the dynamics of how higher education in the U.S. produces and reproduces the professional middle class and its culture. Its special vantage point is that the authors combine their personal experiences of social class with the rigors of their particular disciplines to reveal the unacknowledged class-cultural conflicts and outright classism that is routinely involved in “going to college.” For undergraduates it is the ideal text for bringing social class to the diversity discussion that today so richly informs many curricula. It’s not just about recognizing and overcoming classism, but as many of these authors demonstrate, there is great potential for transformative learning in wading into the very different experiences and values both students and faculty have depending on their zip codes of origin. The volume as a whole argues that these differences could easily become assets rather than liabilities if honest light is shed on them. Working in Class shines that light brilliantly.