Race and Class Matters at an Elite College - Couverture rigide

In "Race and Class Matters at an Elite College", Elizabeth Aries provides a rare glimpse into the challenges faced by black and white college students from widely different class backgrounds as they come to live together as freshmen. Based on an intensive study Aries conducted with 58 students at Amherst College during the 2005-2006 academic year, this book offers a uniquely personal look at the day-to-day thoughts and feelings of students as they experience racial and economic diversity firsthand, some for the first time.Through online questionnaires and face-to-face interviews, Aries followed four groups of students throughout their first year of college: affluent whites, affluent blacks, less financially advantaged whites from families with more limited education, and less financially advantaged blacks from the same background. Drawing heavily on the voices of these freshmen, Aries chronicles what they learned from racial and class diversity - and what colleges might do to help their students learn more.

"Aries is, I think, quite right in pushing the trend toward diversifying the academy toward its ultimately most important purpose: changing minds, attitudes, and behaviors. Aries asks if colleges must make adjustments to incorporate a more diverse student body, rather than require students to assimilate into an elite environment. If this question and its implications are taken seriously, this book could have a considerable impact." --Joan Ostrove, Macalester College

"[A] refreshingly in-depth and pragmatic addition to the literature on diversity in higher education." --Teachers College Record, Summer 2009

"Aries breaks new ground with this study... presenting the issues students face when coping with class and race differences... The author's keen sense that these major themes are revealed in students' specific experiences enlivens and informs." --Publisher's Weekly