Amplified Advantage

Going to a “Good” College in an Era of Inequality

Allison L. Hurst

Amplified Advantage investigates the value and impact of today’s small liberal arts colleges through an extended examination of a recent cohort of students attending them. It demonstrates how these colleges sometimes succeed and sometimes fail in equalizing the experience of all their students. But there is more to the book than that. Although primarily an account of life and learning at small liberal arts colleges in the US today, scholars will find much of theoretical interest underlying the account. The context of the small liberal arts college is used to unpack how class works. Unlike many other books written about class in college, Amplified Advantage is not exclusively focused on how some students fare less well than their peers, but rather how all students’ strategies are affected by their past experiences and classed expectations, particularly in the context of growing inequality. Amplified Advantage draws on Bourdieu’s theory of class, particularly his concepts of capitals operating in a field, and habitus as way of understanding agent’s structured but generative choices, to demonstrate how inequalities are met, resisted, and ultimately reproduced across generations. Chapter by chapter, the book lays out the many ways that class continues to play a role in the college experience, from choosing a major, to frequency of faculty interaction, to participation in the extra-curriculum. The last chapters demonstrate the differential burden of debt on graduates and the impact of varied parental support after graduation. Amplified Advantages adds to our understanding of how class works, the impact of parents and families on social reproduction, and the ways that colleges and universities can contribute to or reduce inequalities.

Lexington Books

Pages: 302 • Trim: 6¼ x 9

978-1-4985-8965-9 • Hardback • October 2019 • $100.00 • (£77.00)

978-1-4985-8967-3 • Paperback • July 2021 • $42.99 • (£33.00)

978-1-4985-8966-6 • eBook • October 2019 • $95.00 • (£73.00)

Series: Social Class in Education

Subjects: Education / Higher, Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / Arts & Humanities, Education / Arts in Education

Amplified Advantage

Going to a “Good” College in an Era of Inequality

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Amplified Advantage investigates the value and impact of today’s small liberal arts colleges through an extended examination of a recent cohort of students attending them. It demonstrates how these colleges sometimes succeed and sometimes fail in equalizing the experience of all their students. But there is more to the book than that. Although primarily an account of life and learning at small liberal arts colleges in the US today, scholars will find much of theoretical interest underlying the account. The context of the small liberal arts college is used to unpack how class works. Unlike many other books written about class in college, Amplified Advantage is not exclusively focused on how some students fare less well than their peers, but rather how all students’ strategies are affected by their past experiences and classed expectations, particularly in the context of growing inequality. Amplified Advantage draws on Bourdieu’s theory of class, particularly his concepts of capitals operating in a field, and habitus as way of understanding agent’s structured but generative choices, to demonstrate how inequalities are met, resisted, and ultimately reproduced across generations. Chapter by chapter, the book lays out the many ways that class continues to play a role in the college experience, from choosing a major, to frequency of faculty interaction, to participation in the extra-curriculum. The last chapters demonstrate the differential burden of debt on graduates and the impact of varied parental support after graduation. Amplified Advantages adds to our understanding of how class works, the impact of parents and families on social reproduction, and the ways that colleges and universities can contribute to or reduce inequalities.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 302 • Trim: 6¼ x 9

978-1-4985-8965-9 • Hardback • October 2019 • $100.00 • (£77.00)

978-1-4985-8967-3 • Paperback • July 2021 • $42.99 • (£33.00)

978-1-4985-8966-6 • eBook • October 2019 • $95.00 • (£73.00)

Series: Social Class in Education

Subjects: Education / Higher, Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / Arts & Humanities, Education / Arts in Education

Author

Allison L. Hurst is associate professor of sociology at Oregon State University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Prologue

Chapter One: Introduction

Chapter Two: A Short History of Higher Education and the Small Liberal Arts College in the US

Chapter Three: Orientation: Understanding Who Goes to Small Liberal Arts Colleges and Why?

Chapter Four: Agency and Constraint in the College Selection Process

Chapter Five: Paying for College

Chapter Six: Learning the Liberal Arts: The Curriculum

Chapter Seven: Living the Liberal Arts: Campus Life

Chapter Eight: Outside the College Gates

Chapter Nine: Graduating (in a Recession)

Chapter Ten: Conclusion: Habitus, Capitals, Game

Appendix: The School to Work Study

Notes

References

Index

About the Author

Reviews

Hurst (sociology, Oregon State Univ.) examines whether small liberal arts colleges (SLACs) amplify or ameliorate preexisting class disparities. To illustrate the impact class has on student outcomes and experiences, the author uses surveys, observations, and interview data collected from students at several SLACs. She employs central concepts of Pierre Bourdieu’s theory on class, such as capital and habitus, to frame the results of her study. Through stories and thick description, Hurst unpacks the complexity of how social class influences students’ strategies, such as what they choose to study and what they do after graduation. This research shows that SLACs offer an invaluable education to students of all social classes, but ultimately students from economically privileged backgrounds fare better than their peers despite having similar curricular and extracurricular experiences. Although the tone and style of this book are appropriate for academics, general audiences may also find the text appealing and highly readable. . . Hurst’s well-researched book is insightful and should be read by students, faculty, and college administrators. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers, upper-division undergraduates through faculty, and professionals.

— CHOICE

Hurst builds on her celebrated history of explaining how class works at college. Her newest book turns our attention to liberal arts colleges – where class plays out in predictable and unpredictable ways.
— Jessi Streib, Author of The Power of the Past: Understanding Cross-Class Marriages

Amplified Advantage is essential reading for all those concerned about inequalities in higher education. Richly theorised, evocatively reflexive, and beautifully written, the book captures and sustains the reader's interest through a rich synergy of qualitative and quantitative research that weaves together the lived experiences of young people in higher education. Its powerful and provocative message that a university degree is no longer enough to redress social class inequalities is one we all need to heed.
— Diane Reay, University of Cambridge

Amplified Advantage

Going to a “Good” College in an Era of Inequality

Allison L. Hurst

Amplified Advantage

Going to a “Good” College in an Era of Inequality

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