Tag Archives: middle class

A Class on Class

Posted on July 30, 2012 by

I recently graded 32 final projects from my course on working-class literature at the University of Pittsburgh.  The assignment had invited students to use whatever forms of writing or other media would allow them to express what they had been … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Issues, Nick Coles, Understanding Class | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Against Pursuing Excellence

Posted on July 18, 2011 by

I am not against excellence.  I just think it’s over-rated as an aspiration.  In fact, I think aspiration itself may be over-rated. When I see excellence — when I’m competent to recognize it (and in many fields, like science and … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Issues, Jack Metzgar, Understanding Class | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

American History without the Working Class — Again!

Posted on September 27, 2010 by

As interesting and insightful as American Prospect reviewer Sarah Igo makes it seem, I am not going to read Made in America: A Social History of American Culture and Character by Berkeley sociologist Claude Fischer. According to Igo, Fischer is … Continue reading →

Posted in Contributors, Issues, Jack Metzgar, Understanding Class | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Welcome to the Working Class

Posted on January 19, 2010 by

As the financial industry celebrates its recovery from the Great Recession with huge bonuses, attention has turned increasingly to jobs.  But that’s not a new concern: over the past three decades first the working class and then the middle class … Continue reading →

Posted in Contributors, Issues, John Russo, The Working Class and the Economy | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments