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RACE, CLASS, GENDER AND THE AMERICAN DREAM:
A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF UPPER WORKING-CLASS AFRICAN
AMERICAN MOTHERS’ SITUATED AMERICAN DREAM MEANINGS,
CONTRADICTIONS, AND RESOLUTION
by
Carla M. Vaughn
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(SOCIOLOGY)
December 2010
Copyright 2010 Carla M. Vaughn
Object Description
| Title | Race, class, gender and the American Dream: a qualitative study of upper working-class African American mothers' situated American Dream meanings, contradictions, and resolution |
| Author | Vaughn, Carla M. |
| Author email | vaughn.carla@gmail.com; cvaughn@usc.edu |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Sociology |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date submitted | 2010 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2010-12-08 |
| Advisor (committee chair) |
Ransford, H. Edward Messner, Michael |
| Advisor (committee member) | Davison, Gerald |
| Abstract | Achievement of the hegemonic American Dream of education and professional upward mobility assumes a White male middle-class foundation (though the ideology of individualism and meritocracy often render this context invisible). Literature on race, class, and gender (intersectionality, microaggressions, etc.) suggests that working-class and poor people of color usually lack this material foundation but they still must negotiate with the traditional American Dream ideology.; This dissertation explores within the American class structure, a subordinated upper working-class whose members have attained higher education yet they work in jobs that are highly routinized and earn wages that keep them just below a traditional White middle-class status. The findings in this dissertation help to explain how upper working-class Black mothers negotiate their own definitions of the American Dream, and how they translate relevant meanings, aspirations, and strategies for their sons and daughters.; Conflict theory and intersectionality literature suggest that African American girls and women are often associated with striving toward “independence,” while African American boys and men are often associated with striving toward “respect” (often, though not always, through sports achievement). Loosely engaging such theories, I explain how upper working-class African American mothers develop innovative American Dream adaptations and strategies for their daughters and sons. These mothers’ unique adaptations hint at the necessity for them to construct alternate American Dream meanings and realizations contextualized within their aggregated race-class-gender social location. They do so by employing a process of ideological negotiation that allows them to reconcile traditional American Dream ideology with their day-to-day subjugated experiences.; The multi-layered micro-level study design consists of personal interviews, focus group discussions, visual surveys, and observations. The qualitative methodology effectively unearths new understandings of how some subordinated groups reconcile traditional American Dream ideology with the realities of their everyday life experiences. |
| Keyword | American Dream; education; upward mobility; middle-class; ideology of individualism; meritocracy; upper working-class; African American mothers; ideological negotiation; Black female independence; Black male survival; American Dream aspirations |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3580 |
| Rights | Vaughn, Carla M. |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | http://www.usc.edu/isd/libraries/services/ask_a_librarian/email/ |
| Filename | etd-Vaughn-4159 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume48/etd-Vaughn-4159.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Full text | RACE, CLASS, GENDER AND THE AMERICAN DREAM: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF UPPER WORKING-CLASS AFRICAN AMERICAN MOTHERS’ SITUATED AMERICAN DREAM MEANINGS, CONTRADICTIONS, AND RESOLUTION by Carla M. Vaughn A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (SOCIOLOGY) December 2010 Copyright 2010 Carla M. Vaughn |
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