Blue Collar Bayou

Blue Collar Bayou
Author: Jacques M. Henry
Publisher: Praeger
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2002-11-30
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Although the French language and the traditional rural way of life are disappearing among Louisiana Cajuns, identification with Cajun ethnicity is flourishing. Henry and Bankston draw on historical documents, ethnographic observations and interviews, and statistical sources to investigate and explain this phenomenon. They argue that while Cajun ethnicity developed from and consisted of the French-speaking, rural poor of the region, it has been transformed, during the 20th century, into a regional class with common interests and outlooks. A substantial minority of Cajuns have risen out of the blue collar niche and into the middle class, creating more complicated problems of adjustment, role redefinition, and the changing nature of relationships with friends and family who remain part of the working class. The authors detail and describe the way the working class Cajun majority and the white collar Cajun minority draw on images and ideas from a reconstructed past to make sense of their present conditions and changes in their community. This comprehensive structural analysis of Cajun ethnicity suggests a new emphasis on structural conditions in understanding ethnic phenomena and introduces the concept of an economy of ethnicity. In analyzing and exploring the creation and maintenance of Cajun ethnicity, Henry and Bankston also point toward a general theory of contemporary ethnic groups. Why, for instance, have more and more people claimed to be of Native American ancestry? How did the population of people calling themselves Irish soar over the course of a very brief period of time? Arguing that as the cultural basis of difference subsides, ethnic claims increase, and that such claims are based on a number of factors including socioeconomic and regional concerns, the authors contend that the same factors at play in the maintenance of the Cajun ethnicity are also at play in other ethnic communities and subcultures within the United States. They conclude that in claiming an ethnic identity, group members rework ideas of history and ancestry in order to apply these ideas to modern life.

Public Education—America's Civil Religion

Public Education—America's Civil Religion
Author: Carl L. Bankston
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Total Pages: 355
Release: 2015-04-18
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0807771139

In this volume, the authors argue that public education is a central part of American civil religion and, thus, gives us an unquestioning faith in the capacity of education to solve all of our social, economic, and political problems. The book traces the development of America's faith in public education from before the Civil War up to the present, exploring recent educational developments such as the No Child Left Behind legislation. The authors discuss how this faith in education often makes it difficult for Americans to think realistically about the capacities and limitations of public schooling. Bringing together history, politics, religion, sociology, and educational theory, this in-depth examination: raises fundamental questions about what education can accomplish for the citizens of the United States; points out that many supposedly opposing viewpoints on public education actually arise from the same root assumptions; exposes the gaps between our pursuit of equity in schools and what we really accomplish with students; looks at ways in which education can be organized to serve a diverse population.

The End of Desegregation?

The End of Desegregation?
Author: Stephen J. Caldas
Publisher: Nova Publishers
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2003
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9781590337288

After over half a century of court-directed efforts to redress the historical educational chasm between blacks and whites in the United States, both the past achievements and the future direction of school desegregation are uncertain. Too often, the early gains made in racially desegregating America's schools seem to have been halted, and in many cases reversed. Urban school decay is once again on the rise, with predictable consequences. For the very poorest minority students, who have limited educational options apart from dangerous, deteriorating neighbourhood schools, drop-out rates are high, standardised test scores are abysmally low, and violence is an everyday fact of life. The gulf between the unskilled, marginalised students being warehoused in these predominantly poor, minority schools on the one hand, and the increasingly high tech society they cannot compete in on the other, is growing. This ground-breaking book presents the viewpoints and research of some of the most prominent scholars in the field of school desegregation. It covers virtually the entire spectrum of thinking and scholarship on school desegregation and its promise, success, necessity, pitfalls and failures.

Forced to Fail

Forced to Fail
Author: Stephen J. Caldas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2005-08-30
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0313050244

Caldas and Bankston provide a critical, dispassionate analysis of why desegregation in the United States has failed to achieve the goal of providing equal educational opportunities for all students. They offer case histories through dozens of examples of failed desegregation plans from all over the country. The book takes a very broad perspective on race and education, situated in the larger context of the development of individual rights in Western civiliztion. The book traces the long legal history of first racial segregation, and then racial desegregation in America. The authors explain how rapidly changing demographics and family structure in the United States have greatly complicated the project of top-down government efforts to achieve an ideal racial balance in schools. It describes how social capital—a positive outcome of social interaction between and among parents, children, and teachers—creates strong bonds that lead to high academic achievement. The authors show how coercive desegregation weakens bonds and hurts not only students and schools, but also entire communities. Examples from all parts of the United States show how parents undermined desegregation plans by seeking better educational alternatives for their children rather than supporting the public schools to which their children were assigned. Most important, this book offers an alternative, more realistic viewpoint on class, race, and education in America.

French North America in the Shadows of Conquest

French North America in the Shadows of Conquest
Author: Ryan André Brasseaux
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 367
Release: 2020-12-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000281868

French North America in the Shadows of Conquest is an interdisciplinary, postcolonial, and continental history of Francophone North America across the long twentieth century, revealing hidden histories that so deeply shaped the course of North America. Modern French North America was born from the process of coming to terms with the idea of conquest after the fall of New France. The memory of conquest still haunts those 20 million Francophones who call North America home. The book re-examines the contours of North American history by emphasizing alliances between Acadians, Cajuns, and Québécois and French Canadians in their attempt to present a unified challenge against the threat of assimilation, linguistic extinction, and Anglophone hegemony. It explores cultural trauma narratives and the social networks Francophones constructed and shows how North American history looks radically different from their perspective. This book presents a missing chapter in the annals of linguistic and ethnic differences on a continent defined, in part, by its histories of dispossession. It will be of interest to scholars and students of American and Canadian history, particularly those interested in French North America, as well as ethnic and cultural studies, comparative history, the American South, and migration.

Energy Capitals

Energy Capitals
Author: Joseph A. Pratt
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2015-03-23
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0822979225

Fossil fuels propelled industries and nations into the modern age and continue to powerfully influence economies and politics today. As Energy Capitals demonstrates, the discovery and exploitation of fossil fuels has proven to be a mixed blessing in many of the cities and regions where it has occurred. With case studies from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Norway, Africa, and Australia, this volume views a range of older and more recent energy capitals, contrasts their evolutions, and explores why some capitals were able to influence global trends in energy production and distribution while others failed to control even their own destinies. Chapters show how local and national politics, social structures, technological advantages, education systems, capital, infrastructure, labor force, supply and demand, and other factors have affected the ability of a region to develop and control its own fossil fuel reserves. The contributors also view the environmental impact of energy industries and demonstrate how, in the depletion of reserves or a shift to new energy sources, regions have or have not been able to recover economically. The cities of Tampico, Mexico, and Port Gentil, Gabon, have seen their oil deposits exploited by international companies with little or nothing to show in return and at a high cost environmentally. At the opposite extreme, Houston, Texas, has witnessed great economic gain from its oil, natural gas, and petrochemical industries. Its growth, however, has been tempered by the immense strain on infrastructure and the human transformation of the natural environment. In another scenario, Perth, Australia, Calgary, Alberta, and Stavanger, Norway have benefitted as the closest established cities with administrative and financial assets for energy production that was developed hundreds of miles away. Whether coal, oil, or natural gas, the essays offer important lessons learned over time and future considerations for the best ways to capture the benefits of energy development while limiting the cost to local populations and environments.

The Sociology of Katrina

The Sociology of Katrina
Author: David L. Brunsma
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Total Pages: 390
Release: 2010-09-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1442206284

The second edition of The Sociology of Katrina brings together the nation's top sociological researchers in an effort to deepen our understanding of the modern catastrophe that is Hurricane Katrina. Five years after the storm, its profound impact continues to be felt. This new edition explores emerging themes, as well as ongoing issues that continue to besiege survivors. The book has been updated and revised throughout—from data about recovery efforts and environmental conditions, to discussions of major social issues in education, health care, the economy, and crime. The authors thoroughly review the important topic of recovery, both in New Orleans and in the wider area of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. This new edition features a new chapter focused on the Katrina experience for people in the primary impact area, or "ground zero," five years after the storm. This chapter uncovers many challenges in overcoming the critical problems caused by the storm of the century. From this important update of the acclaimed first edition, it is apparent that "the storm is not over," as Katrina continues to generate political, economic, community, and personal controversy.

Encyclopedia of Technological Hazards and Disasters in the Social Sciences

Encyclopedia of Technological Hazards and Disasters in the Social Sciences
Author: Duane A. Gill
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 769
Release: 2024-11-08
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1800882203

The Encyclopedia of Technological Hazards and Disasters in the Social Sciences brings together an array of global experts to investigate, explore and analyse human-caused disaster events. Providing insights into both the origins and aftermaths of disaster events, it offers advanced understanding of a broad range of disaster events facing society during the Anthropocene.

The Houstorian Dictionary: An Insider's Index to Houston

The Houstorian Dictionary: An Insider's Index to Houston
Author: James Glassman
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2015-07-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 1625855826

Houston is an innovative city informed by a diverse and eclectic past that is ever-present in its customs, expressions and dreams, even though most Houstonians don't realize it. Represented by landmarks, dishes and events, the culture of America's fourth-largest city is celebrated in the literature, movies, songs and memorable quotations credited to its vibrant citizenry. The Houstorian Dictionary is a guide for natives and newcomers alike. Each entry leads into the next to create a tapestry of the Bayou City's past and present. Discover that story and visit the places where it all happened. Meet the innovators, heroes, hucksters and misfit tinkerers who share the unique Houston DNA. The Houstorian, James Glassman, reveals valuable insights that make this a handy reference as well as an entertaining read.