Analyzing the Underclass: American Values, Normative Functions, and Implications for Research and Policy

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Author
Strassel, Sarah E.
Subject
Washington and Lee University, Shepherd Poverty Program
Poverty
Terminology
Kaus, Mickey, 1951-
Gans, Herbert J.
Shipler, David K., 1942-
Stereotypes (Social psychology)
Public welfare
Economic assistance, Domestic
Poor -- Employment
Ethnology
Metadata
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Sarah E. Strassel is a member of the Class of 2006 of Washington and Lee University. Capstone; [FULL-TEXT FREELY AVAILABLE ONLINE] Values, norms, morals, and ideologies impact nearly every aspect of American life. Importantly, the established, hegemonic principles that actively shape our perceptions of the world around us also inform our actions and our judgments as they converge with or digress from these culturally determined standards. These traditional values and cultural concepts are crucial, then, in an examination of our society's treatment and understanding of poverty. Using these social norms as an evaluative framework, I am specifically interested in the use of "underclass terminology" to discuss the poor. [From Introduction] Sarah Strassel