This study, first published in 1986, provides a systematic account of the processes and structure of class formation in the major advanced capitalist societies. The focus is on the organizational mechanisms of class cohesion and division, theoretically deriving from a neo-Marxian perspective. Chapters consider the organization and structure of the 'corporate ruling class', the middle class and the working class, and are brought together in an overarching analysis of the organization of class in relation to the state and the economy. This title will be of particular interest to students researching the impact of recession on societal structure and the processes of political class struggle, as well as those with a more general interest in the socio-economic theories of Marx, Engels and Weber.

First published in 1979, Inequality, Crime, and Public Policy integrates and interprets the vast corpus of existing research on social class, slums, and crime, and presents its own findings on these matters. It explores two major questions. First, do policies designed to redistribute wealth and power within capitalist societies have effects upon crime? Second, do policies created to overcome the residential segregation of social classes have effects on crime? The book provides a brilliantly comprehensive and systematic review of the empirical evidence to support or refute the classic theories of Engles, Bonger, Merton, Cloward and Ohlin, Cohen, Miller, Shaw and McKay, amongst many others. Braithwaite confronts these theories with evidence of the extent and nature of white collar crime, and a consideration of the way law enhancement and law enforcement might serve class interest.

"In Communist Intellectuals in China, "Hung-Yok Ip examines how communist intellectuals in China during the revolutionary period (1921-1940) constructed and presented identities for themselves. She looks at how these identities later allowed them to claim to be the serving elite of a revolution that sought to liberate the oppressed and bring about a better society. Not only does this book make a contribution to the history of the Chinese revolution, it also contributes to an understanding of the culture that was to be built in China after 1949.
Using memoirs, recollections and literary work that have only recently become available, Ip analyzes Communist intellectuals' self-construction form the functional, emotional aesthetic perspectives, and expands on how these historical agents fashioned the themes of Communist intellectuals as leaders, hero's and sophisticates.

In Victorian England, the perception of girlhood arose not in isolation, but as one manifestation of the prevailing conception of femininity. Examining the assumptions that underlay the education and upbringing of middle-class girls, this book is also a study of the learning of gender roles in theory and reality. It was originally published in 1982.

The first two sections examine the image of women in the Victorian family, and the advice offered in printed sources on the rearing of daughters during the Victorian period. To illustrate the effect and evolution of feminine ideals over the Victorian period, the book s final section presents the actual experiences of several middle-class Victorian women who represent three generations and range, socioeconomically, from lower-middle class through upper-middle class.

How do the media represent obesity and eating disorders? How are these representations related to one another? And how do the news media select which scientific findings and policy decisions to report? Multi-disciplinary in approach, Obesity, Eating Disorders and the Media presents critical new perspectives on media representations of obesity and eating disorders, with analyses of print, online, and televisual media framings. Exploring abjection and alarm as the common themes linking media framings of obesity and eating disorders, Obesity, Eating Disorders and the Media shows how the media similarly position these conditions as dangerous extremes of body size and food practice. The volume then investigates how news media selectively cover and represent science and policy concerning obesity and eating disorders, with close attention to the influence of pre-existing framings alongside institutional and moral agendas. A rich, comprehensive analysis of media framings of obesity and eating disorders - as embodied conditions, complex disorders, public health concerns, and culturally significant phenomena - this volume will be of interest to scholars and students across the social sciences and all those interested in understanding cultural aspects of obesity and eating disorders.

Much of the literature on globalization has centered on the large, macro-level forces that influence the ways ideas, people, and various forms of capital move around the world. From this vantage point, discussions about the progressive feminization of migration, in particular the feminization of out-migration from rural areas, indicate an intriguing trend. Simultaneously, the local experience of global forces is an important way of exploring how macro-level processes are navigated by social actors on the ground. This provides added texture to our understanding of why and how people make decisions about their lives within an increasingly interconnected social, economic, and political environment. This volume explores whether concurrent patterns in identity development, social relations, and youth behaviors on the micro-level might help explain similarities observable at the macro-level. Through a triangulated approach that balances between statistical backdrops, extant quantitative research, and in-depth qualitative interviews, this book theorizes about shifts in gender normativity, efforts towards social mobility, and the possible effects of an increasingly globalized society. To do this, it examines the decision-making processes employed by high-achieving young women from rural areas in Vermont and Leinster, Ireland as they figured out who they wanted to become as adults and where they wanted to be those people. Remaining mindful of structural constraints and using the lens of the "psychic landscape" (Reay 2005) to view class as a reflexive practice, this book peers into the ways certain types of identity evident among blue-collar students seem to be carving out some potential for social and spatial mobility amidst both global and local trends.

The major themes explored in this book, originally published in 1986, are the political resonances of social stratification and change; the growing distance between the working class and the providers of social services; and the role of locality in social reproduction.

The relationship between society and space is the subject of a major debate in developed countries. The key questions are about just how far spatial patterns and local conditions affect social relations and stratification and how far they shape collective action, electoral responses and class.

Much has been written about the Los Angeles riots of 1992, which brought out deep racial tensions throughout the city, exposed by media images of police brutality. This book sheds light on another facet of the events, the birth of a dynamic grassroots activist and community organizing movement that has been little noticed by academics or even by the press. It also focuses on the theatrical production of Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, a performance created by Anna Deavere Smith. Performance and Activism analyzes a rich, eclectic, and ongoing ensemble of local activist struggles in the context of the history and political economy of Los Angeles. Building on the important critical urban studies work of Mike Davis and Edward Soja, it also draws on Dwight Conquergood's writings on performance ethnography to theorize the political work of grassroots formations such as alternative/underground media collectives, gang truce parties/picnics, and women-organized prisoner support and court watch groups, such as Mothers Reclaiming Our Children. The book focuses on these events through the inter-disciplinary approach of performance studies, highlighting "performance-conscious activisms" that help bridge the enormous class, race, and gender divides of our society.

In 2002 widespread communal violence tore apart towns and villages in rural parts of Gujarat, India. In the aftermath, many Muslims living in Hindu-majority villages sought safety in the small town of Anand. Following such dramatic displacement, the town emerged as a site of opportunity and hope. For its residents and transnational visitors, Anand's Muslim area is not just a site of marginalization; it has become an important focal point and regional center from which they can participate in the wider community of Gujarat and reimagine society in more inclusive terms. This compelling ethnography shows how in Anand the experience of residential segregation led not to estrangement or closure but to distinctive forms of mobility and exchange that embed Muslim residents in a variety of social networks. New Lives in Anand moves beyond established notions of ghettoization to foreground the places, practices, and narratives that are significant to the people of Anand. New Lives in Anand is available in an open access edition through the Sustainable History Monograph Pilot, thanks to the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Open access edition: DOI 10.6069/9780295749655

As middle classes in developing countries grow in size and political power, do they foster stable democracies and prosperous, innovative economies? Or do they encourage crass materialism, bureaucratic corruption, unrealistic social demands, and ideological polarization? These questions have taken on a new urgency in recent years but they are not new, having first appeared in the mid twentieth century in debates about Latin America. At a moment when exploding middle classes in the global South increasingly capture the world's attention, these Latin American classics are ripe for revisiting. Part One of the book introduces key debates from the 1950s and 1960s, when Cold War era scholars questioned whether or not the middle class would be a force for democracy and development, to safeguard Latin America against the perceived challenge of Revolutionary Cuba. While historian John J. Johnson placed tentative faith in the positive transformative power of the "middle sectors," others were skeptical. The striking disagreements that emerge from these texts lend themselves to discussion about the definition, character, and complexity of the middle classes, and about the assumptions that underpinned twentieth-century modernization theory. Part Two brings together more recent case studies from Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina, written by scholars influenced by contemporary trends in social and cultural history. These authors highlight issues of language, identity, gender, and the multiple faces and forms of power. Their studies bring flesh-and-blood Latin Americans to the forefront, reconstructing the daily lives of underpaid office workers, harried housewives and striving professionals, in order to revisit questions that the authors in Part One tended to approach abstractly. They also pay attention to changing cultural understandings and political constructions of who "the middle class" is and what it means to be middle class. Designed with the classroom and non-specialist reader in mind, the book has a comprehensive critical introduction, and each selection is preceded by a short description setting the context and introducing key themes.

First published in 1989, this book focuses on the policing of male violence against women. It is an issue that has been criticised substantially in the past, and the book shows how even police themselves have sometimes admitted that women have received inadequate treatment. The book includes contributions from North America, Australia, and Western Europe and looks at different approaches that have been taken by states in intervening into the violence of men against women. Chapters explore the differences and similarities of policing practices in western societies at the time surrounding the book's original publication.

The emergence of the African middle class as a driver of Africa s economic growth stands out as an important milestone in Africa s contemporary economic history. This growth, though uneven, is a source of hope for Africa but also a signal to the rest of the world on the prospects for economic recovery and renewal, particularly because it has been steady despite the global downturn."

The Emerging Middle Class in Africa" analyses specific aspects of the lives of the middle class in Africa. It looks at how people become and remain in the middle class through a series of thematic chapters. It examines how behaviour changes in the process, in terms of consumption patterns, and spending on health and education. A further dimension taken up in this analysis is how class impacts gender relations and whether women are equally reaping the benefits of social advancement as men. Africa is a continent of such scale and diversity that experiences across countries vary widely. The book thus captures the common patterns across the continent.

This book is primarily aimed at Africanist researchers, policy makers, students of African studies, political science, political economy, development studies and development economics as well as development practitioners, and bilateral and multilateral institutions."

The rapid shift of German elite groups' political loyalties away from Nazism and toward support of the fledgling democracy of the Federal Republic, in spite of the continuity of personnel and professional structures, has surprised many scholars of postwar Germany. The key, Hayse argues, lies in the peculiar and paradoxical legacy of these groups' evasive selective memory, by which they cast themselves as victims of the Third Reich rather than its erstwhile supporters. The avoidance of responsibility for the crimes and excesses of the Third Reich created a need to demonstrate democratic behavior in the post-war public sphere. Ultimately, this self-imposed pressure, while based on a falsified, selective group memory of the recent past, was more important in the long term than the Allies' stringent social change policies.

The whole landscape of research in urban studies was revolutionized by the publication of Richard Florida's The Rise of the Creative Class in 2002, and his subsequent book entitled The Flight of the Creative Class has helped to maintain a decade-long explosion of interest in the field. While these two books examine the creative class in the context of the United States, research has emerged which investigates the creative class worldwide. This book brings together detailed studies of the creative class in cities across the globe, examining the impact of the creative class on growth and development. The countries covered include the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, China, Japan and Canada, in addition to the United States. Taken together, the contributions deepen our understanding of the creative class and the various factors that affect regional development, highlighting the similarities and differences between the creative class and economic development across countries. This book will be of great interest to scholars of economic geography, regional economics, urban sociology and cultural policy, as well as policy makers involved in urban development.

First published in 1991, this collection of original studies by British, German and American historians examines the whole range of modern German bourgeoisie groups, including professional, mercantile, industrial and financial bourgeoisie, and the bourgeois family. Drawing on original research, the book focuses on the historical evidence as counterpoint to the well-known literary accounts of the German bourgeoisie. It also discusses bourgeois values as manifested in the cult of local roots and in the widespread practice of duelling. Edited by two of the most respected scholars in the field, this important reissue will be of value to any students of modern German and European history.

This book is abut the place of space in the study of class formation. It consists of a set of papers that fix on different aspects of the human geography of class formation at different points in the history of Britain and the United States over the course of the last 200 years. The book shows that the geography of class formation is a valuable and cross-disciplinary tool in the study of modern societies, integrating the work of human geographers with that of social historians, sociologists, social anthropologists and other social scientists in an enterprise which emphasises the essential unity of social science.

Professor Wesolowski presents a detailed study of Marx's theory of class structure and compares it with non-Marxist theories of social stratification, in particular the functionalist theory of stratification and the theory of power elite. He is also concerned to develop and extend the Marxist approach to the study of class structure and social stratification in a socialist society. The book begins with a thorough and original reconstruction of Marx's theory of class domination in a capitalist society, and goes on to show that contemporary non-Marxist theories of power elites complement rather than contradict Marx's concept of class domination. The author examines in detail the functionalist theory of stratification, but rejects it, preferring the Marxist approach. Finally, though, he demonstrates the complementary nature of the two approaches to the study of class structure by expounding a comprehensive paradigm for empirical research based on Marxist theory but including some elements of contemporary stratification theories as well.

Non-manual workers are fast becoming the largest occupational category in Western capitalist countries. This is the first book to present a detailed socialist analysis of this much discussed change in the class structure of contemporary capitalism. Focusing on the class position of managerial and supervisory workers, Robert Carter takes as his starting-point the inadequacy of both orthodox Marxist and Weberian models of class relations. Rather, he concurs with recent structuralist theorists of class who maintain that there exists between capital and labour in the process of producing a new middle class. He parts company from the work of these theorists, however, in his insistence that the organisation and consciousness of the new middle class have also to be examined because of the practical consequences these have on class relations. The book therefore examines the historical rise of the middle class, both in the private and the state sector, together with the tendency of the class to respond to its changing relations with capital and labour by unionising. It is sharply critical of the dominant models of the causes and nature of white-collar unionism - both industrial relations and Weberian ones - and indeed rejects these models in favour of a perspective which views the extent and nature of middle-class unionism within the dynamics of class relations.

This book was shortlisted for the 2015 BSA Philip Abrams Memorial Prize. Comedy is currently enjoying unprecedented growth within the British culture industries. Defying the recent economic downturn, it has exploded into a booming billion-pound industry both on TV and on the live circuit. Despite this, academia has either ignored comedy or focused solely on analysing comedians or comic texts. This scholarship tends to assume that through analysing an artist's intentions or techniques, we can somehow understand what is and what isn't funny. But this poses a fundamental question - funny to whom? How can we definitively discern how audiences react to comedy? Comedy and Distinction shifts the focus to provide the first ever empirical examination of British comedy taste. Drawing on a large-scale survey and in-depth interviews carried out at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the book explores what types of comedy people like (and dislike), what their preferences reveal about their sense of humour, how comedy taste lubricates everyday interaction, and how issues of social class, gender, ethnicity and geographical location interact with patterns of comic taste. Friedman asks: Are some types of comedy valued higher than others in British society? Does more 'legitimate' comedy taste act as a tangible resource in social life - a form of cultural capital? What role does humour play in policing class boundaries in contemporary Britain? This book will be of interest to students and scholars of sociology, social class, social theory, cultural studies and comedy studies.

The migration of professionals is widely seen as a paradigmatic representation and a driver of globalization. The global elite of highly qualified migrants-managers and scientists, for example-are partly defined by their lives' mobility. But their everyday lives are based and take place in specific cities. The contributors of this book analyze the relevance of locality for a mobile group and provide a new perspective on migrant professionals by considering the relevance of social identities for local encounters in socially unequal cities. Contributors explore shifting identities, senses of belonging, and spatial and social inequalities and encounters between migrant professionals and 'Others' within the cities. These qualitative studies widen the understanding of the importance of local aspects for the social identities of those who are in many aspects more privileged than others.

Shifts in America's socioeconomic geography have been documented since the 1960s, demonstrating the reversal of white flight and the reshaping of a nation, evidenced by the growing divide between underprivileged citizens and the wealthy. As state and local governments continue to scale back social services that impact health and well-being, how will disenfranchised groups fare in this expanding, market-driven global society? Uprooting Urban America addresses this query by examining the social consequences of policies that change urban landscapes during the process of gentrification. In this book, junior and senior scholars present contemporary research findings and innovative strategies within the fields of education, healthcare, geography, sociology and policy studies. The book is ideal for graduate and advanced graduate level courses in the disciplines of education, sociology, cultural studies, political science, public policy, urban planning, social justice education and health care and human services.

This collection of essays critically engages with factors relating to black urban life and cultural representation in the post-civil rights era, using Ice-T and his myriad roles as musician, actor, writer, celebrity, and industrialist as a vehicle through which to interpret and understand the African American experience. Over the past three decades, African Americans have faced a number of new challenges brought about by changes in the political, economic and social structure of America. Furthermore, this vastly changed social landscape has produced a number of resonant pop-cultural trends that have proved to be both innovative and admired on the one hand, and contentious and divisive on the other. Ice-T's iconic and multifarious career maps these shifts. This is the first book that, taken as a whole, looks at a black cultural icon's manipulation of (or manipulation by?) so many different forms simultaneously. The result is a fascinating series of tensions arising from Ice-T's ability to inhabit conflicting pop-cultural roles including: 'hardcore' gangsta rapper and dedicated philanthropist; author of controversial song Cop Killer and network television cop; self-proclaimed 'pimp' and reality television house husband. As the essays in this collection detail, Ice-T's chameleonic public image consistently tests the accepted parameters of black cultural production, and in doing so illuminates the contradictions of a society erroneously dubbed 'post-racial'.

Shifts in America's socioeconomic geography have been documented since the 1960s, demonstrating the reversal of white flight and the reshaping of a nation, evidenced by the growing divide between underprivileged citizens and the wealthy. As state and local governments continue to scale back social services that impact health and well-being, how will disenfranchised groups fare in this expanding, market-driven global society? Uprooting Urban America addresses this query by examining the social consequences of policies that change urban landscapes during the process of gentrification. In this book, junior and senior scholars present contemporary research findings and innovative strategies within the fields of education, healthcare, geography, sociology and policy studies. The book is ideal for graduate and advanced graduate level courses in the disciplines of education, sociology, cultural studies, political science, public policy, urban planning, social justice education and health care and human services.

Red state vs. blue state. Republican vs. Democrat. Fox News vs. "The Daily Show." The so-called culture wars have become such a fixture of American politics that dividing the country into rival camps seems natural and political gridlock seems inevitable. Entering the fray, Solon Simmons offers an intriguing twist on the debate: Our disagreements come not from unbridgeable divides, but from differing interpretations of a single underlying American tradition--liberalism. Both champions of traditional liberal values, Republicans have become the party of individual freedom while Democrats wear the mantle of tolerance. Lost in this battle of sides is the third pillar of liberalism--equality.
Simmons charts the course of American politics through the episodes of "Meet the Press." On the air since 1945, "Meet the Press" provides an unparalleled record of living conversation about the most pressing issues of the day. In weekly discussions, the people who directly influenced policy and held the reins of power in Washington set the political agenda for the country. Listening to what these people had to say--and importantly how they said it--"Meet the Press" opens a window on how our political parties have become so divided and how notions of equality were lost in the process.
Telling the story of the American Century, Simmons investigates four themes that have defined politics and, in turn, debate on "Meet the Press"--war and foreign affairs, debt and taxation, race struggles, and class and labor relations--and demonstrates how political leaders have transformed these important political issues into symbolic pawns as each party advocates for their own understanding of liberty, whether freedom or tolerance. Ultimately, with "The Eclipse of Equality," he looks to bring back to the debate the question lurking in the shadows--how can we ensure the protection of a peaceful civil society and equality for all?

The formation and characteristics of a nation s middle class are shaped by historical context and the developmental path that has been followed. However, can the same be said of the ethnic Chinese middle classes in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and Macao? Given the divergent political and economic experiences under which the respective middle classes were created, established, shaped, and reshaped, can they still be characterized as a homogenous group of Chinese middle classes, or are they more unique within each country?

Using systematic survey data analysis and case studies to examine and compare the emerging middle classes in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and Urban China, this book explores whether the middle classes in these countries possess any uniquely Chinese features, or if these are shared attributes that can be found in other non-Chinese middle classes in the Asia-Pacific region. It analyses the formation, profile, culture, lifestyles, mobility, and politics of the middle class groups in each country, and highlights the differences and similarities that emerge, and focuses in particular on increased mobility, financial resilience, class anxiety, and political interest and effectiveness.

This book will be of great interest to students and scholars interested in Asian middle classes, Chinese studies, Chinese societies, Chinese ethnicity and Chinese politics.