About the Book
In the United States, social class ranks with gender, race, and ethnicity in determining the values, activities, political behavior, and life chances of individuals. Most scholars agree on the importance of class, although they often disagree on what it is and how it impacts Americans. This A-Z encyclopedia, the first to focus on class in the United States, surveys the breadth of class strata throughout our history, for high school students to the general public. Class is illuminated in 525 essay entries on significant people, terms, theories, programs, institutions, eras, ethnic groups, places, and much more.
This useful set is an authoritative, fascinating source for in-demand information on key aspects of our culture and society and helps researchers to narrow down a broad topic. Class is revealed from angles that often intersect: through history, with entries such as Founding Fathers, the Industrial Revolution, Westward Expansion; through economics, with entries such as Dot.com Bubble, Robber Barons, Chicago School of Economics, Lottery, Wage Slaves, Economic Equal Opportunity Act, Stock Market, Inheritance Taxes, Wal-Mart, Welfare; through social indicators such as Conspicuous Consumption, the Hamptons, WASP, Homelessness, Social Climbing; through politics with entries such as Anarchism, Braceros, Heritage Foundation, Communist Party, Kennedy Family; and through culture through entries such as Country Music, The Great Gatsby, Television, and Studs Terkel. Class is also approached from ethnic, sexual, religious, educational, and regional angles. Special features include an introduction, timeline, suggested reading per entry, cross-references, reader's guide to topics, and thorough index. Sample entries: Immigration, Education, Labor Movement, Pink-Collar Workers, AFL-CIO, Strikes, Great Depression, Jacob Riis, Literature, the Rockefellers, Slavery, Music, Academia, Family, Suburbia, McMansions, Taxation, Segregation, Racism, Ivy League, Robber Barons, Philanthropists, Socialites, Religion, Welfare, the American Dream, Dot.com Millionaires, Equal Opportunity, Founding Fathers, Wage Slaves, Industrial Revolution, Capitalism, Economics, Appalachia, Horse Racing, Gender, Communist Party, Country Clubs, Religion, American Indians, Conspicuous Consumption, Studs Terkel, Film, Class-Consciousness, Work Ethic, Media, Television, Puritans, Homelessness, Status Symbols, Assimilation/Melting Pot, Art, Westward Expansion, Poverty, The Great Gatsby, Stock Market, Working Poor, Gated Communities, the Hamptons, Social Climbing, Crime, Lottery, Elitism, WASP, American Dream, Noam Chomsky, Fortune Magazine
Table of Contents:
Alphabetical List of Entries
Topical List of Entries
Preface
Introduction
Encyclopedia
Bibliographical Essay
Index
About the Author :
ROBERT E. WEIR is a Lecturer at Commonwealth College, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Visiting Lecturer at Smith College, co-editor of the acclaimed Historical Encyclopedia of Labor (Greenwood, 2004), and a free-lance writer.
Review :
This three-volume encyclopedia offers an overview of significant happenings, people, social and political groups, political and social theories, and a potpourri of other topics on social and economic class in the United States. With 525 alphabetical entries ranging from the AFL-CIO to Hurricane Katrina to Oprah Winfrey, this general reference set has something for everyone in the reading public…. This easy-to-read, interesting reference set is enhanced by a bibliographic essay, illustrations, and a very usable index. It is an excellent resource for beginning researchers interested in social and economic issues in the United States. Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through graduate students; general readers.
In this reference set on the historical and contemporary impact of social class in America, editor Weir compiles 525 A-to-Z essay entries that cover a number of related topics from a wide range of fields--including religion, education, economics, history, and culture--and underscores their impact on class in our country….Each entry highlights words or phrases that lead to other entries in the encyclopedia and concludes with a useful list of suggested readings for further research….It would be a welcome addition to the reference section of a school media center, public library, or junior college.
This resource is a great reference for anyone who wants a better understanding of many social or economic terms; terms that are often used in the press with an assumption of knowledge or understanding by the reader. These books will inform those who want to know the background or more complete context of a topic. The audience is intended to be general, not advanced researchers. The goal of explaining important social concepts is admirably met. This Greenwood Press title is highly recommended for large high school, most public, and all college or university libraries.
With entries written from a wide spectrum of economic, historical, cultural, and sociological viewpoints, Class provides an informal, nonacademic introduction to understanding and discussing this thorny issue. The 525 alphabetically arranged entries run the gamut from Hurricane Katrina, Noam Chomsky, and the Bush family to Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, the working class, and food banks, and successfully balance historical perspective with manifestations of class in contemporary America….Students will welcome such an easily digested introductory resource.
Part sociology and part cultural history, this A-Z encyclopedia is the first to focus on class in the U.S. and is intended for a general audience. The 525 essays were written by 75 contributors, many of whom are distinguished in their fields….[p]rovides a thought-provoking look at class; asking such questions as who determines class; how people judge themselves in a class structure; and whether class is measured objectively, subjectively, or both. This would be a good purchase for public libraries, and though not aimed at the scholarly reader, it will provide an introduction for academic libraries.
Class in America is a fascinating exploration of one of the most neglected topics in sociology and history in the United States….Easy to navigate and understand, this one-of-a-kind A-Z compendium should grace the shelves of high schools and public libraries from Appalachia to Greenwich, CT., and everywhere in between.
Weir presents a three- volume encyclopedia on economic class in the United States that is aimed at a general audience. The subjects of the 525 alphabetical entries have been chosen more for diversity than for blanket coverage of any single focus. Broadly speaking, it includes entries on significant books and media, class categories, cultural practices and values, the economy, extant organized or social groups, historical groups, people, places, political ideologies, public policies and debates, social institutions and practices, and theories and concepts….All entries are cross-referenced and each includes a brief list of suggested readings. A comprehensive index is included in the final volume.
