Premium
Whiteness, Class and Grassroots Perspectives on Social Change and Difference
Author(s) -
BEIDER HARRIS
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the political quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.373
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1467-923X
pISSN - 0032-3179
DOI - 10.1111/1467-923x.12117
Subject(s) - grassroots , ethnic group , social class , multiculturalism , sociology , white (mutation) , class (philosophy) , contrast (vision) , working class , immigration , gender studies , social psychology , political science , psychology , epistemology , law , politics , anthropology , gene , pedagogy , biochemistry , chemistry , philosophy , artificial intelligence , computer science
This paper suggests that the definition of the white working class, as an ethnic majority, is fluid and shifting, in contrast to its conventional portrayal as a fixed and static group. They are more than simply voiceless and ‘left behind’, especially with regard to views of multiculturalism, immigration and social change. Using data from two recent studies, we see a range of views expressed by white working class communities, which underlines the need for care to be taken when attempting to describe common‐sense views on these polemical subjects.