Almost Home - America's Love-Hate Relationship with Community

Almost Home - America's Love-Hate Relationship with Community PDF Author: David L. Kirp
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691095172
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
For David Kirp, a gifted storyteller and journalist, the concept of community stretches beyond a cliched figure of speech to describe what happens when people make decisions that reshape one another's lives. He has collected a fascinating variety of such stories from across America to re-create the immediate experience of community--tales that signify in their particulars, giving meaning to the much bandied-about idea of civic virtue. They paint a rich picture of how, for better and for worse, Americans live together. We meet two San Francisco families, one Nicaraguan and the other black, trying to live peacefully with each other; residents in the fire ravaged Berkeley hills, whose greed and architectural ambitions thwart attempts to build the new Eden of their dreams; parents and teachers fighting against long odds to improve the East Harlem public schools; residents of a small southern town caring for a parentless teenager with AIDS; residents of the New Jersey suburb of Mount Laurel deciding whether poor families will be allowed to live in "our town;" and neighbors choosing sides when a black teenager kills his gay white neighbor. While there are real heroes--Ethel Lawrence, the Rosa Parks of the affordable housing movement; and Deborah Meier, tireless advocate for better schools--the stories are mainly about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events. These beautifully written tales reveal individuals in the process of forming new alliances or falling back on familiar ones, "bowling alone" or promoting the common good. They show us, past all self-delusion, who we really are.

Almost Home - America's Love-Hate Relationship with Community

Almost Home - America's Love-Hate Relationship with Community PDF Author: David L. Kirp
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691095172
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
For David Kirp, a gifted storyteller and journalist, the concept of community stretches beyond a cliched figure of speech to describe what happens when people make decisions that reshape one another's lives. He has collected a fascinating variety of such stories from across America to re-create the immediate experience of community--tales that signify in their particulars, giving meaning to the much bandied-about idea of civic virtue. They paint a rich picture of how, for better and for worse, Americans live together. We meet two San Francisco families, one Nicaraguan and the other black, trying to live peacefully with each other; residents in the fire ravaged Berkeley hills, whose greed and architectural ambitions thwart attempts to build the new Eden of their dreams; parents and teachers fighting against long odds to improve the East Harlem public schools; residents of a small southern town caring for a parentless teenager with AIDS; residents of the New Jersey suburb of Mount Laurel deciding whether poor families will be allowed to live in "our town;" and neighbors choosing sides when a black teenager kills his gay white neighbor. While there are real heroes--Ethel Lawrence, the Rosa Parks of the affordable housing movement; and Deborah Meier, tireless advocate for better schools--the stories are mainly about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events. These beautifully written tales reveal individuals in the process of forming new alliances or falling back on familiar ones, "bowling alone" or promoting the common good. They show us, past all self-delusion, who we really are.

Index to Black Periodicals 2001

Index to Black Periodicals 2001 PDF Author: G. K. Hall and Co. Staff
Publisher: G. K. Hall
ISBN: 9780783896908
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 816

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Book Description


Membership and Morality in American Politics

Membership and Morality in American Politics PDF Author: Cara Joy Wong
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 488

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Book Description


Choice

Choice PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Academic libraries
Languages : en
Pages : 586

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Book Description


Masterplots II.: A-Dre

Masterplots II.: A-Dre PDF Author: Tyrone Williams
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 560

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Book Description
Williams (Xavier U.) presents 367 three-to-four page essays, 101 commissioned new for this edition, on significant African American works of literature, from Afrocentricity: The Theory of Social Change, a work of cultural criticism by Molefi K. Asante,to Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, the "biomythography" of Audre Lorde. The works covered range from early colonial era writings through works of the beginning of the 21st century. Most of the essays address a single long work, while others review an author's work in a certain genre, such as short fiction, poetry, essays, or speeches. Each entry begins with information on title, subtitle, author's name and birth/death dates, type of work, date of first publication and production. For fiction, information is also presented on type of plot, setting, and principal characters. The essays then describe events or contents of the work and address broad themes and meanings connected to the work. Essays on fiction works include discussion of main character or characters, while nonfiction work includes sections on "form and content" and "analysis." All essays end with discussion of critical context. Also included with the essays are annotated bibliographies on secondary sources. The final volume includes indexes organized by type of work, title, and authors. Examples of works covered, in addition to the two already mentioned, include Ain't I a Woman by bell hooks, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany, The Black Muslims in America by C. Eric Lincoln; The Content of Our Character by Shelby Steele, Kindred by Octavia E. Butler, Roots by Alex Haley, The Signifying Monkey by Henry Louis Gates, Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington, and Walkin' the Dog by Walter Mosley. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

The Nation

The Nation PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Current events
Languages : en
Pages : 796

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Book Description


Las Vegas

Las Vegas PDF Author: Lawrence J. Mullen
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 9780739120750
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
Las Vegas: Media and Myth uses interviews with a variety of individuals to explore life in the fabled American city. With the belief that the media play an essential role in the creation of a sense of community in this transient town, author Lawrence J. Mullen speaks with people who work in the local media industries to get their perspectives about how newspaper, radio, television, and related media help make Las Vegas a livable community.

MultiCultural Review

MultiCultural Review PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Books
Languages : en
Pages : 540

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Book Description


The Geography of Opportunity

The Geography of Opportunity PDF Author: Xavier de Souza Briggs
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0815797788
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 375

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Book Description
A popular version of history trumpets the United States as a diverse "nation of immigrants," welcome to all. The truth, however, is that local communities have a long history of ambivalence toward new arrivals and minorities. Persistent patterns of segregation by race and income still exist in housing and schools, along with a growing emphasis on rapid metropolitan development (sprawl) that encourages upwardly mobile families to abandon older communities and their problems. This dual pattern is becoming increasingly important as America grows more diverse than ever and economic inequality increases. Two recent trends compel new attention to these issues. First, the geography of race and class represents a crucial litmus test for the new "regionalism"—the political movement to address the linked fortunes of cities and suburbs. Second, housing has all but disappeared as a major social policy issue over the past two decades. This timely book shows how unequal housing choices and sprawling development create an unequal geography of opportunity. It emerges from a project sponsored by the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University in collaboration with the Joint Center for Housing Studies and the Brookings Institution. The contributors—policy analysts, political observers, social scientists, and urban planners—document key patterns, their consequences, and how we can respond, taking a hard look at both successes and failures of the past. Place still matters, perhaps more than ever. High levels of segregation shape education and job opportunity, crime and insecurity, and long-term economic prospects. These problems cannot be addressed effectively if society assumes that segregation will take care of itself. Contributors include William Apgar (Harvard University), Judith Bell (PolicyLink), Angela Glover Blackwell (PolicyLink), Allegra Calder (Harvard), Karen Chapple (Cal-Berkeley), Camille Charles (Penn), Mary Cunningham (Urban Institute), Casey Dawkins (Virginia

Boundaries of Obligation in American Politics

Boundaries of Obligation in American Politics PDF Author: Cara J. Wong
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139487132
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
This book shows how ordinary Americans imagine their communities and the extent to which their communities' boundaries determine who they believe should benefit from the government's resources via redistributive policies. By contributing extensive empirical analyses to a largely theoretical discussion, it highlights the subjective nature of communities while confronting the elusive task of pinning down 'pictures in people's heads'. A deeper understanding of people's definitions of their communities and how they affect feelings of duties and obligations provides a new lens through which to look at diverse societies and the potential for both civic solidarity and humanitarian aid. This book analyzes three different types of communities and more than eight national surveys. Wong finds that the decision to help only those within certain borders and ignore the needs of those outside rests, to a certain extent, on whether and how people translate their sense of community into obligations.