Books in the Class: Culture series

In the first forty years of the twentieth century, over one million Mexican immigrants moved to the US, attracted by farm work in California. Camille Guerin-Gonzales tells the story of their migration, their years here, and of the 1930s repatriation program - one of the largest mass removal operations ever sanctioned by the US government.

Studies the most significant American labor conflict of the 20th century

Brings together essays that analyse the effects of class conflict and capitalist ideology on contemporary works of US Latino/a literature. The editors argue that recent global events have compelled contemporary scholars to reexamine traditional interpretive models that centre on identity politics and an ethics of multiculturalism.

In February 2018, 35,000 public school educators walked off the job in West Virginia. More than 100,000 teachers in other states followed over the next year. Strike for the Common Good gathers together essays written by teachers involved, by students and parents, by journalists who have covered the strikes, and by outside analysts.

Provides fresh insights on the intersection of race and class in black fiction from the 1880s to 1900s

Sheds light on the complex relationships between women employers and their household help in the early 20th century through their representations in literature, including women's magazines, conduct manuals, and particularly female-authored fiction.

Combining social history with interdisciplinary approaches to the study of consumption and symbolic space, Middle Class Union illustrates how acts of consumption, representations of the middle class in literary and artistic discourses, and ground-level organising combined to enable white-collar activists to establish themselves as both the middle class and the backbone of America.

Combining interdisciplinary scholarship, political reportage, and personal reflection, this daring book measures the current celebrations of 1960s-era civil rights anniversaries against the realization of a black American presidency, and the stark social and economic conditions of contemporary Black America.

Argues that though slavery was outlawed, all of us are in figurative chains of one kind or another. This work examines the social and economic injustices that shackle the American people. Each one of us, is restrained by a system that values money over humanity, power over truth, and conformity over independent thinking.

Examines consumer culture and race in the United States from 1893-1933 as they were manifested in advertising, literary texts, mass culture, and the public events of the period. This book proves that - in America - advertising, publicity, and the development of the modern economy cannot be understood apart from the question of race.

An anthology of American labor poetry of the Great Depression. This work provides a glimpse into the remarkable but largely forgotten poems published in union newspapers during the turbulent 1930s. It offers an opportunity for you to learn how an earlier generation of workers confronted and challenged injustice and inequality.

Analyzes how various American authors have reified class, consciously or unconsciously, through their writing, spanning from the first influx of industrialism in the 1850s to the end of the Great Depression in the early 1940s. This work is useful for scholars and students of American literature and culture.

Intends to recount the life story of African American activist Mary Robinson. This book sheds light on African American resistance movements in the twentieth century and the roles of religious traditions and storytelling to struggles for social justice. It highlights women's important roles in community activism and the labor movement.

Presents personal essays and memoir by a diverse group of authors united by their poor or working-class origins.

Explores the ways that musicians - particularly female artists - have established a 'natural' country identity. This book focuses on revealing moments in country performance including: blackface comedy on radio and stage before 1945 (concentrating on Opry performers Jamup and Honey), and the minstrel's 'rube' or hillbilly equivalent.

Using the border state of Missouri as a case study, this book argues that the historical development of urban black working-class communities, cultures, and institutions propelled the major African American social movements in the period between the Great Depression and the end of the Great Society.

Explores the relationship between race and class and between politics and literary form in major works of Chicano literature over the years. This study is suitable for scholars and students of American literature, ethnic studies, Latino studies, critical race theory, and Marxist literary theory.