Those who work, those who don't : poverty, morality, and family in rural America / Jennifer Sherman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sherman, Jennifer.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rural poor--United States.

Rural poor.

United States.

United States--Rural conditions.

Rural conditions.

Physical Description:

xi, 240 pages ; 22 cm

Other Title:

Those who work, those who do not

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, [2009]

Summary:

When the rural poor prioritize issues such as the right to bear arms, and disapprove of welfare despite their economic concerns, they are often dismissed as uneducated and backward by academics and political analysts. In Those Who Work, Those Who Don't, Jennifer Sherman offers a much-needed sympathetic understanding of poor rural Americans, persuasively arguing that the growing cultural significance of moral values is a reasonable and inevitable response to economic collapse and political powerlessness.

Those Who Work, Those Who Don't is based on the intimate interviews and in-depth research Sherman conducted while spending a year living in "Golden Valley," a remote logging town in Northern California. Economically devastated by the 1990 ruling that listed the northern spotted owl as a threatened species, Golden Valley proved to be a rich case study for Sherman. Compellingly written, shot through with honesty and empathy, Those Who Work, Those Who Don't is a rare firsthand account that studies the rural poor. As incomes erode and the American dream becomes more and more inaccessible, Sherman reveals that moral values and practices become a way for the poor to gain status and maintain a sense of dignity in the face of economic ruin.

Contents:

Introduction : poverty, morality, and family in rural America

The place I found : an introduction to Golden Valley

Workers and welfare : poverty, coping strategies, and substance abuse

Family life : tradition and safety

Remaking masculinity : losing male breadwinners

Conclusion : understanding poverty in rural America.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780816659043

0816659044

9780816659050

0816659052

OCLC:

335662621