Author Archives: sarahattfield

Working-Class Scholars and Activists Bringing Change

Posted on January 24, 2022 by sarahattfield

At the beginning of 2021, I asked whether life for working-class people would get any better now that everyone understood that working-class people keep societies running. I wasn’t very optimistic about bosses or governments doing much to stem job insecurity … Continue reading →

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Who Wants to Be Rich? Working-Class People Would Like Their Share

Posted on December 6, 2021 by sarahattfield

A recent crop of TV shows — Maid, Succession, Squid Game — have demonstrated that being rich doesn’t lead to happiness. Family, friendship, and other aspects of life are more important. If the world of the rich is filled with … Continue reading →

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“Don’t Get Old”: On Ageing and the Working Class

Posted on September 20, 2021 by sarahattfield

In the US sitcom Superstore (2015-2021), one of the characters, Myrtle, is an elderly store assistant who is often the brunt of jokes due to the slow pace of her work and her overall dottiness. At one point in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Health, Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Sarah Attfield, The Working Class and the Economy | Tagged | 3 Comments

English Football and Working-Class Culture

Posted on April 26, 2021 by sarahattfield

On the afternoon of Saturday, September 23rd, 1933, Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) played Liverpool in a match at Tottenham’s home ground, White Hart Lane, in North London. About a mile away, at the same time, my grandmother went into labour with … Continue reading →

Posted in Contributors, Issues, Sarah Attfield, Working-Class Culture | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Will 2021 Bring Positive Change for Working-Class People?

Posted on January 11, 2021 by sarahattfield

During 2020, Working-Class Perspectives touched on many COVID-related topics and showed how working-class people around the world were being disproportionately affected for a variety of reasons. Contributors showed how the pandemic brought to light the impacts of our reliance on … Continue reading →

Posted in Contributors, Issues, Labor and Community Activism, Sarah Attfield, The Working Class and the Economy | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Working-Class Public Housing in the COVID Spotlight

Posted on August 24, 2020 by sarahattfield

The Covid19 pandemic has highlighted many inequalities experienced by working-class people — insecure work, unsafe work places, access to health care, housing conditions and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on people of colour. Mainstream media has also covered many … Continue reading →

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Working-Class People Hold Society Together: Class and COVID-19

Posted on April 6, 2020 by sarahattfield

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted class inequalities. Commentators in the US, UK, and Australia are acknowledging that working-class people are more likely to suffer as a result of both the virus and the measures put in place to contain its … Continue reading →

Posted in Contributors, Issues, Sarah Attfield, The Working Class and the Economy, Understanding Class | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Valuing Working-Class Life: Recent Memoirs by Working-Class Women

Posted on December 9, 2019 by sarahattfield

With the UK general election looming, there has been renewed interest in the effects of years of austerity measures on poor and working-class people. It seems clear that inequality has increased and more and more people rely on food banks … Continue reading →

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Is ‘Doing Your Best’ Ever Enough When You Are Working Class?

Posted on June 23, 2019 by sarahattfield

In 2016, I wrote about how Ken Loach’s film I, Daniel Blake illustrated the impact of the draconian British welfare system on working-class people. Watching that film was a visceral experience, so much so that I still can’t bring myself … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Sarah Attfield, The Working Class and the Economy | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Notre Dame Cathedral and Questions from a Worker Who Reads (after Bertolt Brecht)

Posted on April 22, 2019 by sarahattfield

When Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire in Paris on April 15, 400 firefighters were deployed to tackle the blaze. One of those workers was seriously injured, and two police officers were also hurt. Emergency workers risked their lives to remove … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Sarah Attfield, Work | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments