{"title":"Social Classes \u0026 Economic Disparity","description":"\u003cp\u003eSocial classes and economic disparity examine how societies are structured by differences in wealth, income, and status. This category covers the causes and impacts of inequality, including factors shaping mobility, divisions between groups, and outcomes for individuals and communities. You’ll find works exploring local and global perspectives, drawing on sociology, economics, and history to show how privilege and disadvantage are maintained or disrupted in various contexts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you are seeking research focused on class dynamics or the mechanisms driving economic gaps, this section can help you target specific issues such as poverty, social mobility, and policy responses. Consider refining your reading by theoretical traditions, geographic focus, or contemporary debates to sharpen your understanding of how inequality is experienced—and challenged—in different settings.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"name-blackness-untold-history-black-name-identity-nameism-american-culture-9798822988934-new","title":"In the Name of Blackness: The Untold History of Black Name-Identity and Nameism in American Culture","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eIn the Name of Blackness\u003c\/em\u003e: An Exploration of Racial Identity and Naming Conventions. Confronting Nameism's Impact on Black Lives and their Struggle for Socio-Political Liberation.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis thought-provoking book delves into the profound significance of names as primary identifiers within social structures, particularly for the Black community. It explores the struggles, biases, and prejudices that individuals with distinctively Black names encounter, especially within predominantly white environments. The author, drawing from personal experiences and observations, presents a comprehensive analysis of the name-based racism or 'nameism, ' a term that emerged from a 2024 University of Dayton study.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe historical trajectory of nameism is intricately explored, tracing its origins and evolution alongside the construction and perception of Blackness as a racial identity. The author masterfully sheds light on the subtle yet pervasive nature of nameism, demonstrating how it manifests in various data and research. The book emphasizes how these name-identity threats influence the judgments of society's opportunity gatekeepers, such as educators, employers, and loan officers, and their long-term impacts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn an era where labeling and identifying oneself is pivotal, the book positions Black naming conventions as acts of resistance, signifying the journey from the demand for civil rights to the rise of consciousness movements that fostered a self-determined identity among Black Americans. These names, rich in history and symbolic of freedom, are presented as a counterpoint to societal norms and expectations.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHowever, the author doesn't shy away from the darker side of this narrative. He critically examines nameism as a form of symbolic violence, where societal power dynamics impose values that justify bias against individuals whose names symbolize a counter-assimilative intent. This forms a significant liability in a society that claims to be colorblind, yet often extols the virtues of seeing the absence of Blackness in a person.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIn the Name of Blackness\u003c\/em\u003e offers an insightful exploration of the intersection of racial identity, naming conventions, and societal biases, illuminating the struggle and resilience of the Black community amidst persistent challenges. This compelling read challenges us to reassess our preconceived notions and prejudices, encouraging a more inclusive understanding of identity and diversity.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"VERTEL PUB","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":51543362601250,"sku":"9798822988934-new","price":16.45,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0893\/4755\/5618\/files\/9798822988934.jpg?v=1776377350"},{"product_id":"caste-origins-our-discontents-9780593230275-new","title":"Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents","description":"\u003cb\u003e#1 \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER - \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e READERS PICK: 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY - OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK - ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR - \u003ci\u003eTIME\u003c\/i\u003e'S #1 NONFICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReferenced in the historic 2026 Supreme Court decision in the concurrence by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who, in affirming birthright citizenship, called the Reconstruction Amendments \"an anticaste, antisubordination reset for the nation.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"An instant American classic and almost certainly the keynote nonfiction book of the American century thus far.\"--Dwight Garner, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"[\u003ci\u003eCaste\u003c\/i\u003e] changes the lens through which we see the world.\"--Oprah Winfrey for \u003ci\u003eTime, \u003c\/i\u003e\"25 Books That Capture This American Moment\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eThe Warmth of Other Suns\u003c\/i\u003e examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions--now with a new afterword by the author.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance. The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power--which groups have it and which do not.\"\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBeyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people's lives and behavior and the nation's fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Isabel Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people--including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball's Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others--she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, O: The Oprah Magazine, \u003c\/i\u003e NPR, \u003ci\u003eBloomberg, The Christian Science Monitor, New York Post, \u003c\/i\u003e The New York Public Library, \u003ci\u003eFortune, Smithsonian Magazine, Marie Claire, Slate, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e Book Prize - National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist - Winner of the Carl Sandburg Literary Award - Dayton Literary Prize Finalist - PEN\/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction Finalist - PEN\/Jean Stein Book Award Finalist - Kirkus Prize Finalist\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"RANDOM HOUSE","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":51579020083490,"sku":"9780593230275-new","price":18.34,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0893\/4755\/5618\/files\/9780593230275.jpg?v=1777418421"},{"product_id":"poverty-america-9780593239933-new","title":"Poverty, by America","description":"\u003cb\u003e#1 \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER - The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eEvicted\u003c\/i\u003e reimagines the debate on poverty, making a \"provocative and compelling\" (NPR) argument about why it persists in America: because the rest of us benefit from it. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, \u003c\/i\u003eNPR, \u003ci\u003eOprah Daily, Time, The Star Tribune, Vulture, The Christian Science Monitor, \u003c\/i\u003eChicago Public Library, \u003ci\u003eEsquire, California Review of Books, She Reads, Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Urgent and accessible . . . Its moral force is a gut punch.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eLonglisted for the \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eInc.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e Non-Obvious Book Award\u003c\/b\u003e - Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this landmark book, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. Those of us who are financially secure exploit the poor, driving down their wages while forcing them to overpay for housing and access to cash and credit. We prioritize the subsidization of our wealth over the alleviation of poverty, designing a welfare state that gives the most to those who need the least. And we stockpile opportunity in exclusive communities, creating zones of concentrated riches alongside those of concentrated despair. Some lives are made small so that others may grow. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eElegantly written and fiercely argued, this compassionate book gives us new ways of thinking about a morally urgent problem. It also helps us imagine solutions. Desmond builds a startlingly original and ambitious case for ending poverty. He calls on us all to become poverty abolitionists, engaged in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity and, at last, true freedom.","brand":"CROWN PUB INC","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":51579021263138,"sku":"9780593239933-new","price":17.72,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0893\/4755\/5618\/files\/9780593239933.jpg?v=1777418444"},{"product_id":"gerontocracy-america-how-old-are-hoarding-power-wealth-and-what-do-about-it-9780374607647-new","title":"Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth--And What to Do about It","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA leading social critic identifies our least discussed major crisis, and sets out to solve it.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs Americans debate President Biden's infirmities and President Trump's erratic behavior, we've neglected the bigger problem before us: a massive transfer of power and wealth to the oldest among us, and the curtailment of the prospects of the young. In \u003ci\u003eGerontocracy in America\u003c\/i\u003e, the historian and social critic Samuel Moyn offers a piercing diagnosis of our age divide and its consequences. Even apart from the presidency, in legislatures, businesses, and the courts, the average leader's age has risen dramatically. The elderly predominantly fund campaigns and dominate their agendas, often with the intent to block any challenge to their status. The tax code is rigged on their behalf, as is an economy geared to sheltering financial and housing assets. The United States was founded on the promise of generational renovation but has become an increasingly febrile country of old men. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut it doesn't need to be this way. With understanding and wit, Moyn shows how elder power can be dismantled. With strong safety nets in place, mandatory retirement ages can be established. The early transfer of assets between generations could be encouraged and young voters can be granted more voice. In such a world, the elderly themselves would be freed from power games to confront the existential opportunities of aging, while the young would find their path to starting out in life unblocked at last.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"FARRAR STRAUSS \u0026 GIROUX","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":52573306224930,"sku":"9780374607647-new","price":23.89,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0893\/4755\/5618\/files\/9780374607647.jpg?v=1789670080"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.albakireads.com\/collections\/social-science-social-classes-economic-disparity.oembed","provider":"AlbakiReads","version":"1.0","type":"link"}