Category Archives: Class and Education

The Hidden Price of an Education: Black and Working-Class in Academe

Posted on August 17, 2020 by

In August 2004, I entered a doctoral program at Carnegie Mellon University. My family is from Braddock, Pennsylvania, a largely black neighborhood with working-class roots, and they were ecstatic that I would be their first doctor. I did not know … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Class at the Intersections, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Essential Work: The 2020 WCSA Awards

Posted on July 13, 2020 by

At the center of all the chaos and turmoil of 2020 has been the essential worker on the front lines—from healthcare workers treating those infected with COVID-19 to service workers of all kinds who have kept us fed, supplied, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Class and the Media, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues, The Working Class and the Economy, Working-Class Culture | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Class System of Higher Ed Goes Online

Posted on March 23, 2020 by

Most American colleges and universities moved courses online over the last week. That shift highlights the class disparities of higher education. For example, at Georgetown, by the time the University President announced that classes were moving online, more than 30 … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Issues, Sherry Linkon | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

A Punishment with No End: The Journey of a Working-Class Criminal into Academia

Posted on March 9, 2020 by

We call ourselves the flower pot kids after the floral themed street names the local council assigned in a vain if well-meaning attempt to brighten up an otherwise dreary area. The council-owned social housing consisted of tattered prefabricated buildings from … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues, Understanding Class | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Amplified Advantage: Why Education Is Not the Answer to Our Class Problems

Posted on December 2, 2019 by

Thirty years ago, after having dropped out of college after just one term, unable to pay for my dorm room, I was unsure if I would ever leave the working class.  Two years later I was a student at Barnard … Continue reading →

Posted in Allison L. Hurst, Class and Education, Contributors, Issues | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Censoring the Working Class

Posted on September 9, 2019 by

Does the first amendment work the same for all Americans? What kind of freedoms do working people have to read, look at, and say what they want? The subject is on my mind this month as I gear up to … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman, Labor and Community Activism | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

What is a “Working-Class Academic”?

Posted on July 22, 2019 by

Last week, a law professor from the UK was profiled by The Guardian.  In the article, Geraldine Van Bueren, the daughter of a taxi driver and bookkeeper, discusses the need for people like her to come out publicly.  She has … Continue reading →

Posted in Allison L. Hurst, Class and Education, Contributors, Issues, Understanding Class | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Across the Border: Teaching Service-Learning as Labor Activism

Posted on June 17, 2019 by

Summer is already in full swing and with that comes the promise of fresh, local produce available at community-supported agricultural (CSA) farms and farmers’ markets. North Carolina, ranked as the leading producer of tobacco and sweet potatoes according to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues, Labor and Community Activism, The Working Class and the Economy | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Class(room) Warfare

Posted on April 15, 2019 by

The actress Felicity Huffman—along with 13 other parents charged in the college admissions scandal—entered plea deals last week, putting pressure on actress Lori Laughlin and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, to do the same. Prosecutors are hinting that if Laughlin … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman, Labor and Community Activism | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Bargaining for the Common Good Comes of Age

Posted on March 11, 2019 by

The week-long strike by the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) in January 2019 marked the most significant struggle yet in a movement by teachers and other public-sector workers called Bargaining for the Common Good.  By striking over a long … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues, Labor and Community Activism | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment