Archive: Working-Class Culture
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WCP: Should We Mourn the Loss of Industrial Jobs?
Many elite and middle-class people dismiss former industrial workers’ attachment to the memory of dirty, dangerous factory work. But as James Partick Ferns reminds us in this week’s Working-Class Perspectives, displaced workers recognize the very real problems of industrial labor.
Category: Visiting Scholars
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WCP: ABC Sitcom The Conners: The Struggle is Real
ABC rebooted Roseanne without its namesake star after she was dismissed for a racist tweet against President Obama’s close advisor, Valerie Jarrett. In Working-Class Perspectives, Kathy M. Newman describes how The Conners successfully tackles issues that working-class families face today: struggles with addiction, health, and work.
Category: Visiting Scholars
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WCP: Sorry to Bother You: A Spectacle That Teaches
Among labor activists, summer movie-going wasn’t defined by another high-budget action film or carefree 70’s themed musical, but by Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You. In this week’s Working-Class perspectives, Kathy M. Newman reviews the film and discusses how its production is reflective of a changing Hollywood that is becoming more accepting of pro-union politics.
Category: Visiting Scholars
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WCP: Black Working-Class Voices Doing It for Themselves
For many working-class people of color it can be difficult, if not impossible, to find mainstream narratives that reflect their experiences. In Working-Class Perspectives, Adjoa Wiredu explores her experiences growing up in an environment lacking these narratives, and describes the work being done to create and popularize independent black narratives.
Category: Visiting Scholars
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WCP: Working-Class Pride: Promise or Peril?
Unions, theologians, and many cultural icons have sought to portray working-class jobs as a source of pride, but that pride has often been turned into a weapon. In this week's Working-Class Perspectiv
Category: Visiting Scholars
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WCP: The Royal Family and Their Working-Class Fans
Americans and Britons alike often enjoy reveling in the pomp and fanfare of the British Royal Family, despite the Royal Family’s distance from working-class citizens. In Working-Class Perspectives, Sarah Attfield argues that instead of glamorizing the royals, we ought to be paying more attention to the labor and struggles of the working-class.
Category: Visiting Scholars
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WCP: Class, Politics, and the Return of Roseanne
The reboot of 1990s sitcom Roseanne brought with it a staggering number of viewers, indicating a strong demand for working-class representation in television and media. In Working-Class Perspectives, Kathy Newman highlights the need for shows like Roseanne while critiquing the disconnect between the people the show is meant to portray and the public actions of its lead actress, Roseanne Barr.
Category: Visiting Scholars
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WCP: Becky and the Grind
Working one’s way out of poverty, once an attainable ambition for the working-class, has now become a practical impossibility. In this week’s Working-Class Perspectives, Jack Metzgar details the story of Becky, a working-class single mother who struggled to do all she could just to not fall deeper into poverty, and the complex social dynamics of a family trying to support her.
Category: Visiting Scholars
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WCP: The Home Maintenance of Working-Class Identity After Deindustrialization
Children of working-class families are often encouraged to both stay true to their familial roots while simultaneously pursuing white collar careers. In Working-Class Perspectives, George Karl Ackers
Category: Visiting Scholars
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WCP: Know Your Place: A New Generation of Working-Class Voices
The stories from younger generations of the working-class are becoming increasingly distinct from previous generations. In Working-Class Perspectives, Tim Strangleman reviews Know Your Place, a collection of reflections from young working-class writers, and compares the reflections in the book with his own working-class experiences.
Category: Visiting Scholars