LibGuides: Personal Learning Network Resources: SOCIAL IDENTIFIER: SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS

WEBSITES

Center on Poverty and Social Policy "The Center on Poverty and Social Policy (CPSP) at the Columbia School of Social Work produces cutting-edge research to advance our understanding of poverty and the role of social policy in reducing poverty and promoting opportunity, economic security, and individual and family wellbeing."
The Hamilton Project "The Hamilton Project offers a strategic vision and produces innovative policy proposals on how to create a growing economy that benefits more Americans. The Project’s strategy reflects a judgment that long-term prosperity is best achieved by fostering economic growth and broad participation in that growth, by enhancing individual economic security, and by embracing a role for effective government in making needed public investments." from the website
Opportunity Atlas
Learning for Justice: Class
Urban Institute

SCHOLARLY ARTICLES

Socioeconomic Status Discrimination "This Article, published in the Virginia Law Review in 2018, makes the case for protecting socioeconomic status (SES) under discrimination statutes that govern employment, housing, education, voting, public accommodations, and credit/lending>"
The Psychology of Social Class: how Socioeconomic status impacts thoughts, feelings and behaviour This study was published in 2018by the British Psychological Society

GROWING UP POOR IN AMERICA

Growing Up Poor in America A production of PBS Frontline follows the lives of three children and their parents who live in the battle ground state of Ohio and who are dealing with the pandemic and staying afloat.

PODCASTS

The Homecomers "The Homecomers with Sarah Smarsh brings you stories of folks who, as residents or advocates, remain committed to their complex, embattled homes."

ANEW CONTRACT WITH THE MIDDLE CLASS

A New Contract with the Middle Class
This extensive report by the Brookings Institute (a liberal leaning organization) looks at the middle class in the United States and the American Dream.

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"The U.S. is a middle-class nation. Since our nation’s founding, the American Dream has always been based on an implicit understanding – a contract if you will – between individuals willing to work and contribute, and a society willing to support those in need and to break down the barriers in front of them."

THE GREAT DIVIDE: RACE, CLASS AND OPPORTUNITY IN OUR SCHOOLS

The Great Divide: Race, Class, and Opportunity in Our Schools

ARTICLES AND REPORTS

NEW: Disrupted Lives: Sociologist Matthew Desmond studies eviction and the lives of America’s poor.
NEW: What if something happens?: A qualitative study of the American middle class before and during the COVID-19 pandemic A recent report from the liberal think tank, The Brookings Institute. The report is based on interviews with a small group of people called American Middle Class Hopes and Anxieties Study (AMCHAS). The research, while not done on a large scale can serve as a window into the middle class.
Housing Discrimination
How Red Lines Built White Wealth: A Lesson on Housing Segregation in the 20th Century A lesson from the Zinn Education Project
Most Americans Point to Circumstances, Not Work Ethic, for Why People Are Rich or Poor A March 2020 report from the Pew Research Center
Prior to COVID-19, Urban Core Counties in the U.S. Were Gaining Vitality on Key Measures
Universal Basic Income This report published in March 2020, looks at the concept of "guaranteed income" provided to citizens as a way to address income inequality. Former Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang was a proponent of guaranteed income.

Children in Poverty: By the numbers An accompanying article to the Frontline documentary.
Everything I Know About Elite America I Learned From ‘Fresh Prince’ and ‘West Wing’ "Television taught me how to move between social classes — but at what cost?" The author of this recent opinion piece in the NYTimes grew up in foster care, has an interesting take on how watching tv informed his understanding of class.
How the LSAT Destroys Socioeconomic Diversity
How We Rise: How Social Networks in Charlotte Impact Economic Mobility A summary of research conducted by the Brookings Institute
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" Social networks, providing access to support, information, power and resources, are a critical and often neglected element of opportunity structures. Social capital matters for mobility."
NEW: How Cleveland’s innovation district is advancing equity through a new kind of anchor institution "Over the past 20 years, economic growth in the United States has become increasingly uneven, driving a wedge of economic disparity between and within cities and metropolitan areas."
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"In Cleveland, the Health-Tech Corridor has made inclusive economic growth a key aspect of its mission, striving to create equitable community development in adjacent low-income neighborhoods, train local residents to participate in the innovation economy, and signal to the private sector that the region is a place for future growth and investment."
People in higher social class have an exaggerated belief that they are better than others
Race and Economic Opportunity in the United States
What we get wrong about the poverty gap in education A 2018 article that appeared in the Washington Post. Poor children don't struggle in school because of their parents. They struggle because of poverty.

AMERICA'S ECONOMIC EXPERIENCE

The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy hosted a conversation this summer with Tara Westover, author of the award winning memoir, Educated, Gene Sperling, author of the new book Economic Dignity and Former Director of the National Economic Council For Presidents Clinton and Obama, and Setti Warren, Executive Director of the Shorenstein Center, on what’s really happening economically to people in communities across America.

WHAT IS SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS?

"Socioeconomic status is the social standing or class of an individual or group. It is often measured as a combination of education, income and occupation. Examinations of socioeconomic status often reveal inequities in access to resources, plus issues related to privilege, power and control."

American Psychological Association

What Determines How Americans Perceive Their Social Class? This article is from Gallup News.
Wikipedia: Socioeconomic Status This article provides a good overview of socio-economic status with numerous references.

BOOKS IN THE LIBRARY

Economic Dignity by Gene Sperling
Call Number: 331.20973 SPE

ISBN: 9781984879875

Publication Date: 2020-05-05
Educated by Tara Westover
ISBN: 9780399590504

Publication Date: 2018-02-20
Evicted by Matthew Desmond
ISBN: 9780553447453

Publication Date: 2017-02-28
Heartland by Sarah Smarsh
ISBN: 9781501133091

Publication Date: 2018-09-18
Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance
ISBN: 9780062300546

Publication Date: 2016-06-28
King and the Other America by Sylvie Laurent; William Julius Wilson (Foreword by)
ISBN: 9780520288560

Publication Date: 2019-01-08