Growing up Working Class: Hidden Injuries and the Development of Angry White Men and Women

This enlightening auto-ethnography examines how social class (and other social institutions and structures) affect how people grow up. Primarily, the book investigates how American children and young adults are impacted by the "hidden injuries" of class, and offers a rich description of how these injuries manifest and curdle later in life. Thomas J. Gorman provides sociological explanations for the phenomenon of the so-called "angry white man," and engages with this phenomenon as it relates to the rise of recent populist political figures such as Donald J. Trump. He also examines how and why white working class people tend to lash out at the wrong social forces and support political action that works against their own interests. Finally, the book demonstrates the connections between working-class attitudes toward schooling, sports, politics, and economics.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction2. Where Does the Concrete End?: The Local Context of the Hidden Injuries of Class3. Education: The Hidden Injuries of Class Begin 4. The Injuries Continue Into Adulthood 5. Friends and Sports: The Injuries Escalate and Become Personal6. Structure and Culture: The Macro Context of Growing Up Working Class 7. Facebook: A Reunion of Angry (and Not so Angry)8. Conclusions: Hard and Settled Living, Self-Confidence, and The Development of Angry (and Not so Angry) White Working-Class Men and Women

About the Author :
Thomas J. Gorman is Associate Professor of Sociology at Queens College, The City University of New York, USA.

Review :
“Nostalgia rolled back to me faster than the B-express train as I read Queens College sociologist Thomas J. Gorman’s Growing Up Working Class. … the book is erected around a compelling thesis: How the `hidden injuries of class’ follow working-class kids into adulthood … . what I admire most in Gorman’s book are his astute autobiographical observations. He successfully evokes the claustrophobic, frustrating, exhilarating, painful, sometimes menacing, and just plain loud world of working-class New York.” (Alfred Lubrano, Journal of Working Class Studies, Vol. 3 (2), December, 2018) “Gorman’s book … is an autoethnography embedded in sociological theories and concepts (including Sennett and Cobb’s [1972] hidden injuries of class). The premise of this well-written book is simple: the author shows how sociology has allowed him to look back and understand what happened in his life. … Gorman gathered rich and differentiated material which comprises memories, informal interviews, social media hangouts, and biographical materials, such as a letter cited in full and a complete study program.” (Kamil Luczaj, Acta Sociologica, 2018)