Overthrowing the Queen

Telling Stories of Welfare in America

Tom Mould (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

384 Seiten

2020
Indiana University Press (Verlag)
978-0-253-04803-5 (ISBN)

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In 1976, Ronald Reagan hit the campaign trail with an extraordinary account of a woman committing massive welfare fraud. The story caught fire and a devastating symbol of the misuse government programs was born: the Welfare Queen. Overthrowing the Queen examines these legends of fraud and abuse while bringing to light personal stories of hardship and hope told by cashiers, bus drivers, and business owners; politicians and aid providers; and, most important, aid recipients themselves. Together these stories reveal how the seemingly innocent act of storytelling can create not only powerful stereotypes that shape public policy, but also redemptive counter-narratives that offer hope of a more accurate, fair, and empathetic view of poverty in America today. Overthrowing the Queen tackles perceptions of welfare recipients while proposing new approaches to the study of oral narrative that extend far beyond the study of welfare, poverty, and social justice.

Tom Mould is Professor of Anthropology and Folklore at Butler University. He is the author of Still, the Small Voice: Narrative, Personal Revelation, and the Mormon Folk Tradition, Choctaw Prophecy: A Legacy of the Future, and Choctaw Tales.

Acknowledgments
Section I: Welfare Legends: An American Tradition
     Chapter 1: Introduction
     Chapter 2: The Welfare System and Narrative Scholarship
     Chapter 3: Birth in a Nation
Section II: Insider Views: Aid Recipients' Stories
     Chapter 4: Origin Stories
     Chapter 5: Challenge Stories
     Chapter 6: Making Ends Meet and Achieving Success Stories
Section III: Public Debates: Clash of Cultures
     Chapter 7: Symbols and Stereotypes
     Chapter 8: Hard Workers and the Worthy Poor
     Chapter 9: Welfare Lore in Social Media
Section IV: Re-Envisioning Legends
     Chapter 10: Context as Creator of Tradition
     Chapter 11: Truth and Doubt in Contemporary Tradition
     Chapter 12: Overthrowing the Queen
Epilogue
Appendix
Notes
Sources Cited

Erscheinungsdatum	03.01.2020
Zusatzinfo	22 color, 18 graph., 5 tab.
Verlagsort	Bloomington, IN
Sprache	englisch
Maße	156 x 235 mm
Gewicht	635 g
Themenwelt	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie ► Makrosoziologie
ISBN-10	0-253-04803-6 / 0253048036
ISBN-13	978-0-253-04803-5 / 9780253048035
Zustand	Neuware