Overview
Class Cultures and Social Mobility tells the stories of people who grew up working-class, became the first members of their family to graduate from college, and undertook professional work that serves working-class people. Drawing upon personal narratives to appeal to both academics and first-gen students themselves, this book charts the class journeys of people across a wide range of occupational fields. Their stories illustrate how members of the professional workforce draw upon their working-class roots to construct meaningful careers aimed at building stability, mobility, and fulfillment for the next generation of working-class people. While their working-class origins presented significant barriers along their career trajectories, they also found ways to leverage their roots in their professional work. Through their stories, the author reveals the power of working-class cultural capital-how their unique knowledge, skillsets, and dispositions enabled them to leverage their humble beginnings as a strength for both themselves and their communities.
Full Product Details
Author: Paul Dean
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Imprint: Rutgers University Press
Weight: 0.454kg
ISBN: 9781978845817
ISBN 10: 1978845812
Pages: 210
Publication Date: 15 December 2025
Recommended Age: From 18 to 99 years
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Availability: Not yet available 
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Climbing the Class Ladder is an Emotional Journey Part I: Class Cultures and Social Mobility Chapter 1: The Differences Between Working-Class and Middle-Class Cultures Chapter 2: Classism and Cultural Mismatches Faced by Upwardly Mobile Working-Class People Part II: The Hidden Strengths of Working-Class Cultural Capital Chapter 3: Cultural Empathy Chapter 4: Working-Class Norms, Language, and Communication Chapter 5: Translating, Codeswitching, Mediating, and Bridge-Building Chapter 6: Working-Class Dispositions: Hard Work, Practicality, Authenticity, Resilience, and Ingenuity Part III: Lessons Learned Chapter 7: Managing the Threats of Assimilation, Complicity, and Cooptation Chapter 8: Applying the Lessons to First-Gen Students, Working Straddlers, and Our Workplaces Appendix: Research Methodology Acknowledgements Notes Bibliography Index
Reviews
""A well-written, interesting, timely, and emotionally engaging book. Dean makes great use of his own experiences and those of his interviewees, presenting complex sociological concepts and findings simply and in a straightforward, engaging way.""--Elizabeth Lee ""coauthor of Geographies of Campus Inequality: Mapping the Diverse Experiences of First-Generation St""
Author Information
PAUL DEAN is an associate professor of sociology and anthropology at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. He is coauthor of the book Globalization: A Basic Text.
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