Material Information |
| Title: |
The American Myth Survival and Coping Strategies of Low-Income Workers in Sarasota |
| Physical Description: |
Book |
| Language: |
English |
| Creator: |
Tupper, Alena A. |
| Publisher: |
New College of Florida |
| Place of Publication: |
Sarasota, Fla. |
| Creation Date: |
2004 |
| Publication Date: |
2004 |
Subjects |
| Subjects / Keywords: |
Poverty
Working Poor
Survival Strategies |
| Genre: |
bibliography ( marcgt )
theses ( marcgt )
government publication (state, provincial, terriorial, dependent) ( marcgt )
born-digital ( sobekcm )
Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Notes |
| Abstract: |
The purpose of this study is to discover the survival and coping strategies of some of the low-income workers in the Sarasota area. I conducted ten interviews with service workers and construction/industrial workers on these topics. Before I discuss my findings, I discuss the belief that is ingrained into our collective consciousness that hard work leads to economic success in this nation. I provide a brief overview of the theoretical explanations for poverty. Currently, public perception is that poverty is due to individual failings, which follows seamlessly from the American myth that hard work will get you ahead. I provide evidence against individual explanations for poverty, and for structural and economic ones, coupled with the theories of human and cultural capital. I describe my methodology for conducting interviews with low-income workers, and then recount the information I learned from these interviews. The three categories of survival strategies I found were networking or pooling resources, supplementing income and forgoing need and wants. The coping strategies that my respondents used to deal with their hardships included constantly looking toward a brighter future, and finding identity from a former source of employment or in other areas of their lives. Also, many respondents, in order to adhere to the dominant beliefs of this country, such as the aforementioned American myth, blame other individuals for their circumstances of poverty, but use structural and circumstantial explanations to rationalize their own situation. I argue that we need to break free from this American myth that blames lowincome workers for failing to take advantage of the wealth of opportunities supposedly available to them, and begin to attack poverty from a different angle. |
| Statement of Responsibility: |
by Alena A. Tupper |
| Thesis: |
Thesis (B.A.) -- New College of Florida, 2004 |
| Electronic Access: |
RESTRICTED TO NCF STUDENTS, STAFF, FACULTY, AND ON-CAMPUS USE |
| Bibliography: |
Includes bibliographical references. |
| Source of Description: |
This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. |
| Local: |
Faculty Sponsor: Hernandez, Sarah |
Record Information |
| Source Institution: |
New College of Florida |
| Holding Location: |
New College of Florida |
| Rights Management: |
Applicable rights reserved. |
| Classification: |
local - S.T. 2004 T9 |
| System ID: |
NCFE003461:00001 |
|
Material Information |
| Title: |
The American Myth Survival and Coping Strategies of Low-Income Workers in Sarasota |
| Physical Description: |
Book |
| Language: |
English |
| Creator: |
Tupper, Alena A. |
| Publisher: |
New College of Florida |
| Place of Publication: |
Sarasota, Fla. |
| Creation Date: |
2004 |
| Publication Date: |
2004 |
Subjects |
| Subjects / Keywords: |
Poverty
Working Poor
Survival Strategies |
| Genre: |
bibliography ( marcgt )
theses ( marcgt )
government publication (state, provincial, terriorial, dependent) ( marcgt )
born-digital ( sobekcm )
Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Notes |
| Abstract: |
The purpose of this study is to discover the survival and coping strategies of some of the low-income workers in the Sarasota area. I conducted ten interviews with service workers and construction/industrial workers on these topics. Before I discuss my findings, I discuss the belief that is ingrained into our collective consciousness that hard work leads to economic success in this nation. I provide a brief overview of the theoretical explanations for poverty. Currently, public perception is that poverty is due to individual failings, which follows seamlessly from the American myth that hard work will get you ahead. I provide evidence against individual explanations for poverty, and for structural and economic ones, coupled with the theories of human and cultural capital. I describe my methodology for conducting interviews with low-income workers, and then recount the information I learned from these interviews. The three categories of survival strategies I found were networking or pooling resources, supplementing income and forgoing need and wants. The coping strategies that my respondents used to deal with their hardships included constantly looking toward a brighter future, and finding identity from a former source of employment or in other areas of their lives. Also, many respondents, in order to adhere to the dominant beliefs of this country, such as the aforementioned American myth, blame other individuals for their circumstances of poverty, but use structural and circumstantial explanations to rationalize their own situation. I argue that we need to break free from this American myth that blames lowincome workers for failing to take advantage of the wealth of opportunities supposedly available to them, and begin to attack poverty from a different angle. |
| Statement of Responsibility: |
by Alena A. Tupper |
| Thesis: |
Thesis (B.A.) -- New College of Florida, 2004 |
| Electronic Access: |
RESTRICTED TO NCF STUDENTS, STAFF, FACULTY, AND ON-CAMPUS USE |
| Bibliography: |
Includes bibliographical references. |
| Source of Description: |
This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. |
| Local: |
Faculty Sponsor: Hernandez, Sarah |
Record Information |
| Source Institution: |
New College of Florida |
| Holding Location: |
New College of Florida |
| Rights Management: |
Applicable rights reserved. |
| Classification: |
local - S.T. 2004 T9 |
| System ID: |
NCFE003461:00001 |
|