Showing papers by "Michèle Lamont published in 2010"

Reconsidering Culture and Poverty

Abstract: Culture is back on the poverty research agenda. Over the past decade, sociologists, demographers, and even economists have begun asking questions about the role of culture in many aspects of poverty and even explicitly explaining the behavior of the low-income population in reference to cultural factors. An example is Prudence Carter (2005), who, based on interviews with poor minority students, argues that whether poor children will work hard at school depends in part on their cultural beliefs about the differences between minorities and the majority. Annette Lareau (2003), after studying poor, working-class, and middleclass families, argues that poor children may do worse over their lifetimes in part because their parents are more committed to “natural growth” than “concerted cultivation” as their cultural model for child rearing. Mario Small (2004), based on fieldwork in a Boston housing complex, argues that poor people may be reluctant to participate in beneficial community activities in part because of how they culturally perceive their neighborhoods. David Harding (2007, 2010), using survey and qualitative interview data on adolescents, argues that the sexual behavior of poor teenagers depends in part on the extent of cultural heterogeneity in their neighborhoods. Economists George Akerlof and Rachel Kranton (2002), relying on the work of other scholars, argue that whether students invest in schooling depends in part on their cultural identity, wherein payoffs will differ among “jocks,” “nerds,” and “burnouts.” And William Julius Wilson, in his latest book (2009a), argues that culture helps explain how poor African Americans respond to the structural conditions they experience.

Introduction: Reconsidering Culture and Poverty

Abstract: By MARIO LUIS SMALL, DAVID J. HARDING, and MICHELE LAMONT Culture is back on the poverty research agenda. Over the past decade, sociologists, demographers, and even economists have begun asking questions about the role of culture in many aspects of poverty and even explicitly explaining the behavior of the low-income population in reference to cultural factors. An example is Prudence Carter (2005), who, based on interviews with poor minority students, argues that whether poor children will work hard at school depends in part on their cultural beliefs about the differences between minori-

Looking Back at Bourdieu

Abstract: The coeditors of this volume have asked me to discuss the influence of Pierre Bourdieu on my intellectual trajectory in an autobiographical mode. I have been quite reluctant to do so because writing such a piece requires a degree of reflexivity that I may have yet to achieve. Moreover, as a mid-career sociologist (or at least one who recently turned fifty), I also hesitate to approach my own work as an object of commentary for fear of hubris. I have taken on the challenge, if only to clarify for myself the last twenty five years.

Cultural diversity and anti‐poverty policy

Abstract: This article examines how anti-poverty policy has considered the role of culture and how it ought to do so. While some have explained poverty as a function of the presumed cultural deficiency or distinctiveness of the poor, we suggest that these explanations have not been convincing and that policy requires a broader and more sophisticated understanding of the relationship between culture and behaviour. In fact, we suggest that cultural differences may be positively employed in comprehensive anti-poverty strategies.

Forward. Voicing Dissent: American Artists and the War on Iraq

Abstract: Voicing Dissent presents a unique and original series of interviews with American artists (including Guerrilla Girls on Tour, Tony Shalhoub, Shepard Fairey, Sean Astin, and many others) who have voiced their opposition to the war in Iraq. Following Pierre Bourdieu's example, these discussions are approached sociologically and provide a thorough analysis of the relationships between arts and politics as well as the limits and conditions of political speech and action. These painters and graphic artists, musicians, actors, playwrights, theatre directors and filmmakers reveal their perceptions of politics, war, security and terrorism issues, the Middle East, their experiences with activism, as well as their definition of the artist's role and their practice of citizenship. Addressing the crucial questions for contemporary democracies - such as artists' function in society, the crisis of political legitimacy and representation, the rise of new modes of contestation, and the limits to free public speech - this book will be of interest to scholars in sociology, politics, and the arts.

Der alltägliche Kosmopolitismus einfacher Leute. Strategien zur Überwindung von Rassengrenzen zwischen Männern der Arbeiterklasse

Abstract: Der Begriff des ‚Kosmopolitismus‘ wird haufig mit den elitaren Ideen einer Gelehrtenrepublik (Republique des Lettres), der Aufklarung und der universalistischen Intellektuellenkultur Europas assoziiert. Entsprechend definiert Ulf Hannerz (vgl. Hannerz 1996) ‚Kosmopolitismus‘ mit Verweis auf die berufliche und kulturelle Erfahrungspraxis der oberen Mittelschicht und die dort bestehende Begeisterung fur kulturelle Vielfalt sowie den damit verbundenen Lebensstil. Im Gegensatz dazu wollen wir der Diskussion eine neue Richtung geben und beschaftigen uns mit dem ganz gewohnlichen Kosmopolitismus einfacher Leute. Darunter verstehen wir die Strategien, die Angehorige der Arbeiterklasse verwenden, um Rassengrenzen zwischen sich und anderen zu uberwinden.

Reconsidering Culture and Poverty

Abstract: Culture is back on the poverty research agenda. Over the past decade, sociologists, demographers, and even economists have begun asking questions about the role of culture in many aspects of poverty and even explicitly explaining the behavior of the low-income population in reference to cultural factors. An example is Prudence Carter (2005), who, based on interviews with poor minority students, argues that whether poor children will work hard at school depends in part on their cultural beliefs about the differences between minorities and the majority. Annette Lareau (2003), after studying poor, working-class, and middleclass families, argues that poor children may do worse over their lifetimes in part because their parents are more committed to “natural growth” than “concerted cultivation” as their cultural model for child rearing. Mario Small (2004), based on fieldwork in a Boston housing complex, argues that poor people may be reluctant to participate in beneficial community activities in part because of how they culturally perceive their neighborhoods. David Harding (2007, 2010), using survey and qualitative interview data on adolescents, argues that the sexual behavior of poor teenagers depends in part on the extent of cultural heterogeneity in their neighborhoods. Economists George Akerlof and Rachel Kranton (2002), relying on the work of other scholars, argue that whether students invest in schooling depends in part on their cultural identity, wherein payoffs will differ among “jocks,” “nerds,” and “burnouts.” And William Julius Wilson, in his latest book (2009a), argues that culture helps explain how poor African Americans respond to the structural conditions they experience.

Assessing France as a model of societal success

Abstract: In this article, we propose a definition of the elusive "French model" of societal success and explore its usefulness for understanding the forces shaping France's future. This model, we suggest, remains "statist-republicanist": its democracy revolves around the idea of republicanism, while its economy continues to rely heavily on market regulation and public intervention. We assess France's model of societal success, which requires exploring the country's long-term assets and liabilities for human development. We argue, first of all, that France relies on a combination of a high fertility rate, an excellent health care system, a low level of income inequalities, and "de-carbonized growth"; second, that it continues to have a major liability, namely, a shadow French model of cultural membership that sustains segregation and discrimination; and third, that it experiences an important decoupling between its profound socio-economic transformations, on the one hand, and its political discourse and representations of the polity, on the other.