The Burdens of Aspiration

Schools, Youth, and Success in the Divided Social Worlds of Silicon Valley

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
Cover of the book The Burdens of Aspiration by Elsa Davidson, NYU Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Elsa Davidson ISBN: 9780814720899
Publisher: NYU Press Publication: August 22, 2011
Imprint: NYU Press Language: English
Author: Elsa Davidson
ISBN: 9780814720899
Publisher: NYU Press
Publication: August 22, 2011
Imprint: NYU Press
Language: English

During the tech boom, Silicon Valley became one of the most concentrated zones of wealth polarization and social inequality in the United States—a place with a fast-disappearing middle class, persistent pockets of poverty, and striking gaps in educational and occupational achievement along class and racial lines. Low-wage workers and their families experienced a profound sense of exclusion from the techno-entrepreneurial culture, while middle class residents, witnessing up close the seemingly overnight success of a “new entrepreneurial” class, negotiated both new and seemingly unattainable standards of personal success and the erosion of their own economic security.
The Burdens of Aspiration explores the imprint of the region’s success-driven public culture, the realities of increasing social and economic insecurity, and models of success emphasized in contemporary public schools for the region’s working and middle class youth. Focused on two disparate groups of students—low-income, “at-risk” Latino youth attending a specialized program exposing youth to high tech industry within an “under-performing” public high school, and middle-income white and Asian students attending a “high-performing” public school with informal connections to the tech elite—Elsa Davidson offers an in-depth look at the process of forming aspirations across lines of race and class. By analyzing the successes and sometimes unanticipated effects of the schools' attempts to shape the aspirations and values of their students, she provides keen insights into the role schooling plays in social reproduction, and how dynamics of race and class inform ideas about responsible citizenship that are instilled in America's youth.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

During the tech boom, Silicon Valley became one of the most concentrated zones of wealth polarization and social inequality in the United States—a place with a fast-disappearing middle class, persistent pockets of poverty, and striking gaps in educational and occupational achievement along class and racial lines. Low-wage workers and their families experienced a profound sense of exclusion from the techno-entrepreneurial culture, while middle class residents, witnessing up close the seemingly overnight success of a “new entrepreneurial” class, negotiated both new and seemingly unattainable standards of personal success and the erosion of their own economic security.
The Burdens of Aspiration explores the imprint of the region’s success-driven public culture, the realities of increasing social and economic insecurity, and models of success emphasized in contemporary public schools for the region’s working and middle class youth. Focused on two disparate groups of students—low-income, “at-risk” Latino youth attending a specialized program exposing youth to high tech industry within an “under-performing” public high school, and middle-income white and Asian students attending a “high-performing” public school with informal connections to the tech elite—Elsa Davidson offers an in-depth look at the process of forming aspirations across lines of race and class. By analyzing the successes and sometimes unanticipated effects of the schools' attempts to shape the aspirations and values of their students, she provides keen insights into the role schooling plays in social reproduction, and how dynamics of race and class inform ideas about responsible citizenship that are instilled in America's youth.

More books from NYU Press

Cover of the book Walking Where Jesus Walked by Elsa Davidson
Cover of the book Paranoid Science by Elsa Davidson
Cover of the book In the Beginning by Elsa Davidson
Cover of the book Anti-Americanism by Elsa Davidson
Cover of the book Jews, Slaves, and the Slave Trade by Elsa Davidson
Cover of the book At Liberty to Die by Elsa Davidson
Cover of the book Spreadable Media by Elsa Davidson
Cover of the book Risible Rhymes by Elsa Davidson
Cover of the book Homelessness in New York City by Elsa Davidson
Cover of the book Sanctuary Cinema by Elsa Davidson
Cover of the book The Racial Mundane by Elsa Davidson
Cover of the book Jews and Booze by Elsa Davidson
Cover of the book Civil Society, Second Edition by Elsa Davidson
Cover of the book Keywords for Environmental Studies by Elsa Davidson
Cover of the book Liberty Tree by Elsa Davidson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy