Race and Class Matters at an Elite

From Publishers Weekly
Amherst College psychology professor Aries breaks new ground with this study of four groups of students (affluent whites, affluent blacks, whites with high financial needs, limited family education, or both and similarly situated blacks) based on online questionnaires and individual interviews. Although the classroom is not absent from this study, the author's focus is on the more personal and social day-to-day experiences of these students, their perceptions of themselves and others through the lenses of race and class, what relationships they build and how they are informed by identity issues. Aries presents the issues students face when coping with class and race differences, and assesses the benefits, if any... gained from racial and class diversity. The author's keen sense that these major themes are revealed in students' specific experiences enlivens and informs (for example, how a student's summer plans are affected by race and class). Fully cognizant of the atypicality of Amherst students, she recognizes that the matters of race and class that students are dealing with on campus were not unique to this institution, [but] are issues being dealt with or avoided throughout the larger society. (Oct.)
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"Finally, a case study that skillfully unpacks the problems of race and privilege, the less visible inheritance of social class, and the well-intentioned but unfinished campus efforts at environmental engineering. Elizabeth Aries’ insights and recommendations are as serious and relevant as the vexing challenges our colleges face."
—Eugene M. Tobin, Program Officer for the Liberal Arts Colleges Program at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, former President of Hamilton College, and co-author of Equity and Excellence in American Higher Education


Product Description
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.

Book Description

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.