Privilege Lost: Who Leaves the Upper Middle Class and How They Fall

Product Description
There are two narratives of the American class structure: one of a country with boundless opportunities for upward mobility and one of a rigid class system in which the rich stay rich while the poor stay poor. Each of these narratives holds some truth, but each overlooks another. In
Privilege
Lost, Jessi Streib traces the lives of over 100 youth born into the upper-middle-class. Following them for over ten years as they transition from teens to young adults, Streib examines who falls from the upper-middle-class, how, and why don't they see it coming. In doing so, she reveals the
patterned ways that individuals' resources and identities push them onto mobility paths--and the complicated choices youth make between staying true to themselves and staying in their class position. Engaging and eye-opening,
Privilege Lost brings to life the stories of the downwardly mobile and
highlights what they reveal about class, privilege, and American family life.
Review
"
Privilege Lost is a rich portrait of white youth who were born into the upper-middle class in the late-1980s." -- Natasha Quadlin,
American Journal of Sociology
"This is a valuable and nuanced perspective in consideration of socioeconomic class in America." -- F.E. Knowles, Valdosta State University,
CHOICE
"Streib has written a methodologically innovative study of a hugely important topic: downward mobility. Too often we think of mobility as people moving 'up.'
Privilege Lost gives us a rich sense of what it means, instead, to 'fall,' and why far more Americans do than we imagine. -Shamus Khan, Chair
and Professor of Sociology, Columbia University
"In this ground-breaking book, Jessi Streib presents an incisive analysis of an often-overlooked aspect of class inequality-downward mobility. Through a novel use of existing interview transcripts,
Privilege Lost gives us a new way of understanding how young people's sense of themselves and the
class position of their families shape life outcomes." --Daniel Laurison, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Swarthmore College
"
Privilege Lost offers an in-depth examination of cultural factors that contribute to downward mobility among the relatively advantaged. It is a fascinating and important phenomenon that has received minimal empirical attention. The book contributes to contemporary research on culture and
inequality, which has disproportionately focused on the reproduction of privilege, by illuminating cultural mechanisms that result in a failure to pass on privilege from one generation to the next." --Lauren Rivera, Northwestern University
About the Author
Jessi Streib is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Duke University. She is the author of
The Power of the Past: Understanding Cross-Class Marriages.