Class Cultures and Social Mobility
The Hidden Strengths of Working-Class First-Generation Graduates

Paul Dean (Author)

9781978845800

Paperback / softback, published 11 November 2025

210 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.454 kg

Class Cultures and Social Mobility tells the stories of people who grew up working-class, became the first members of their family to graduate from college, and undertook professional work that serves working-class people. Drawing upon personal narratives to appeal to both academics and first-gen students themselves, this book charts the class journeys of people across a wide range of occupational fields. Their stories illustrate how members of the professional workforce draw upon their working-class roots to construct meaningful careers aimed at building stability, mobility, and fulfillment for the next generation of working-class people. While their working-class origins presented significant barriers along their career trajectories, they also found ways to leverage their roots in their professional work. Through their stories, the author reveals the power of working-class cultural capital-how their unique knowledge, skillsets, and dispositions enabled them to leverage their humble beginnings as a strength for both themselves and their communities.

Introduction: Climbing the Class Ladder is an Emotional Journey
Part I: Class Cultures and Social Mobility
Chapter 1: The Differences Between Working-Class and Middle-Class Cultures
Chapter 2: Classism and Cultural Mismatches Faced by Upwardly Mobile Working-Class People
Part II: The Hidden Strengths of Working-Class Cultural Capital
Chapter 3: Cultural Empathy
Chapter 4: Working-Class Norms, Language, and Communication
Chapter 5: Translating, Codeswitching, Mediating, and Bridge-Building
Chapter 6: Working-Class Dispositions: Hard Work, Practicality, Authenticity, Resilience, and Ingenuity
Part III: Lessons Learned
Chapter 7: Managing the Threats of Assimilation, Complicity, and Cooptation
Chapter 8: Applying the Lessons to First-Gen Students, Working Straddlers, and Our Workplaces
Appendix: Research Methodology
Acknowledgements
Notes
Bibliography
Index