UMD Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

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Author: search.filters.author.Coleman-Casey, Joannie Linda

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    PERCEPTIONS AND EXPRESSIONS OF CLASS IDENTITY: A LIFE HISTORY APPROACH
    (2005-05-01) Coleman-Casey, Joannie Linda; Caughey, John; American Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Utilizing a life history method, a working class male's perceptions of and responses to notions of discrimination experienced by the working class are documented. The concept of class as an experience unique to each individual is explored through comparison with the author's experiences with discrimination against the working class and a review of literature. At first the subject's actions may appear arbitrary and unexpected, but what is discovered is a coherence or meaning system based on individual rights and self-worth that accounts for his seemingly unrelated activities. Experiences in conflict with this system are detailed and social resistance is revealed as a response to the conflict arising from belief versus experience. Expressions of resistance range from economic and occupational decisions and political involvements to sexual expressions all of which are designed to resist middle class expectations. The individual's construction of masculinity as a response to perceived class discrimination is investigated. What emerges is a model of masculinity rooted in a desire to express the power denied to him because of class affiliation