Black and Blue by Barry Singer

Black and Blue by Barry Singer

Equality is a fundamental American value. The nation's Declaration of Independence declared equality as a self-evident foundation for political life and the pursuit of equality has continued to dominate policy debates in the twenty-first century. However, equality is a complex idea and it has had different meanings in different eras. Using a variety of data sources, this book describes how the views we hold regarding this fundamental national value developed as products of our cultural history from the origins of the American republic to 2020. It traces how cultural transmission, political and economic structures, and communication technology have shaped this core American value. The book begins with the early days of the American republic and follows ideological changes through the era of the self-made man, the rise of corporate society, the New Deal, the post-World War I era, and the era of Civil Rights. It ends with a detailed discussion of how this history has resulted in some of the most divisive political and social controversies of the twenty-first century.

Most studies of equality have taken this as having a single, clear meaning. Most often, this has been either how much equality of opportunity exists now or has existed in the past, or how much equality of condition exists now or has existed in the past. They rarely consider that people can be equal or unequal in different ways, and that what we mean when we talk about equality or engage in debates about it has been shaped by historical experience. This book is a work of historical sociology that examines the forces that have shaped and re-shaped this fundamental cultural value. The book leads readers through an exploration of how different stages of American history have led to thinking about equality in terms of independence from hierarchy, the opportunity for self-creation, access to services and resources, widespread upward mobility, and equality across social categories. It takes a unique multidisciplinary approach, combining intellectual and cultural history with political, economic, and sociological analysis. No other book offers this kind of analysis of the both the historical origins and contemporary consequences of a cultural concept at the core of American national life.

American Ideas of Equality will be a valuable resource for academic researchers, students, and general readers interested in American studies; cultural, economic, and political history; political science; and sociology.

Barry Singer has written extensively about the arts for the New York Times Arts & Leisure section, the New Yorker, New York magazine, the New York Times Magazine, Opera News, USA Today, Huffington Post, and Playbill, among others. He is the author of Black and Blue: The Life and Lyrics of Andy Razaf, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; Alive at the Village Vanguard, winner of an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for excellence in music writing; and Churchill Style: The Art of Being Winston Churchill. He is also the founder and proprietor of Chartwell Booksellers, one of New York City's last independent bookstores, now in its thirty-seventh year.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780028723952
ISBN 10	0028723953
Title	Black and Blue
Author	Barry Singer
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Cengage Gale
Year published	1993-01-01
Number of pages	400
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.