Question
This is a two part essay – second part requires a presentation / slide show, done as a separate order, would like the same writer for both if possible.
~Students have to undertake one narrative interview about someone’s childhood that is different to their own. MUST USE and apply ONE OR MORE THEORETICAL CONCEPT LISTED IN “SOCI ASSIGN” FILE. see file for advise/guide
Students are required to analyse the data collected from the interview, applying some kind of sociological theory or concept related to childhood, to analyse the data about the interviewee’s childhood, from a sociological perspective.
Solution
Research Essay – Interview
An in-depth interview is an effective way of understanding another person’s life and knowing how their social environment shaped their outcomes in life. Although I could write a lot about my interviewee, I narrowed down to classed childhoods. The theme of classed childhoods relates to social classes, an element that is common in industrialized societies (Wells 2015). People belong to different classes, such as the working class, middle class, and high class. The interview focused on the role of my interviewee’s background and how her parents’ social and economic conditions affected her life. It also addressed the consequences of her parent’s demands to achieve social mobility. It had a theme about her prospects in the classed industrialized society. I will also explore the theme of class anxiety, as exhibited by my interviewee’s parents. While my interviewee’s parents provided for her basic needs, she experienced considerable stress since her parents believed that she was the hope for them to achieve social mobility in the US.
Interviewee Description
I have met many people that I would have loved to know more about, but I could not interview everyone. Therefore, I settled on one of my friends of Chinese descent. My friend is 25 years old, and has lived in the US all her life. She only knows her descent from the stories her parents, who came into the United States before she was born, narrate. She was born in California as their only child, and her parents wished for her to achieve the ‘American Dream.’ I selected my friend since we had shared some information about our past and I knew that she had a completely different experience from mine. She was also willing to have the interview and open up about her childhood experience. The information would help me to complete the assignment and give her a chance to speak about her childhood.
When her parents came into the United States, they settled in California in a majority Chinese neighborhood, and her father found a job at a Chinese restaurant since he was a chef. Her mother worked as a nurse in a local healthcare center. Her parents were low-income earners, based on the American classed description of social and economic classes. However, they could afford to pay for their two-bedroom apartment, and take their daughter to an excellent public school in the neighborhood. Nevertheless, they wanted their daughter to have a better life than they did, and possibly achieve the American Dream. The parents were quite demanding about the issue, although they loved her. I met her at the university, and she became one of my friends. Since her childhood differed from mine, I needed to understand her experience when I got the chance to complete the assignment. I selected the classed childhood perspective since I wanted to know her experience living in a working-class neighborhood in the country, the demands of her parents to achieve social mobility, and climb up the socioeconomic ladder in the US.
Literature Review
The literature review focuses on the theme of class childhood and anxiety, which is common in many socioeconomic classes in industrialized societies, such as the US. Many children in the United States, especially immigrant children, live in the working class. Social class is relevant in the US, and affects many aspects of lives in the country (GarcĆa & Weiss 2015). The idea of the classed society can help to understand disparities inherent in American society. For example, people from the working class might find it challenging to provide quality housing and education for their children, as compared to the opportunities available to individuals in the high class. Savage (2015) added that the classed nature of society creates a social achievement gap. As a result, it could have other consequences in the future, including the outcome of stress among people who are unable to have a quality life in their future since they were born in the working class.
The classed nature of society helps to understand the diverse cultural values that are evident in class differences in the United States, and other capitalist societies. Various studies have focused on the effect of social-class differences, and the experiences of specific types of classed lives, especially the impact on young people (Clark et al. 2015; Clegg 2017). The social environment within which a person grows has a significant effect on various social, and economic outcomes due to the differences in the inherent opportunities. The society reveals considerable imbalances between working, middle, and upper-class children (Friedman 2016). While some children face the effect of living in lack, others enjoy the privileges of being born and raised in wealthy families. The literature reveals the limitations linked to material deprivation due to the differences in allocation of resources across the different sections of the classed society. The differences have significant consequences, especially among parents and children in the working class.
Class anxiety is a common challenge in the capitalist world due to the desire to climb up the socioeconomic ladder. The anxiety relates to the previous findings that a considerable number of relatively poor children have a high probability of reproducing the economic, and social realities of their parents’ lives (Neilson 2015). They could even have worse conditions than that of their parents due to changes in societies. The class system explains the inequalities of economic, and social status in modern life. The reality can cause considerable pressure, and stress among members of the lower classes as they struggle to provide a better life for themselves, and their children. Regardless of their struggle, the structure of the society could still make it hard to achieve social mobility (Bertaux & Thompson 2017). Nevertheless, some barriers, such as class barriers in providing social and economic opportunities, remain prevalent and affect the future outcomes of many members of American society.
Many members of American society face challenges in the efforts to achieve social mobility in the highly classed society. History has revealed significant attempts by the government, through social welfare, to improve social mobility in the country (Friedman 2016). However, such efforts remain elusive in terms of achieving the objective. Levine and Scotch (2017) added that the achievement of social mobility is not as easy as it sounds. An effort to achieve social mobility causes considerable stress, and emotional challenges as people struggle to have better outcomes in a society that does not provide equitable resources for everyone. Social mobility has considerable effects on individuals, and families as a result of the pressure to get out of poverty, and overcome other adverse effects of living below the social-economic ladder (Friedman 2016). Generally, the upward trajectory is possible but challenging to achieve, which leads to social stress, and anxiety in individuals and families.
Presentation of Themes/Findings
Demographic factors
I also wanted to know how it was for my interviewee, and her family being Chinese in America. She acknowledged that they had their good and bad times in the country. for example, as she grew up, she could not understand why she was different from the majority of children in the school. She experienced the reality of being treated differently, and sometimes, experienced discrimination. For example, “some children, mostly whites, could not want to become our friends or play with us. I remember that in most cases, we could only form friendships with those from our racial background. Although some form of treatment would appear normal, it was hard to understand as a child. However, as I grew up, I became aware of the reality of class status in the country. There are things that I simply could not avoid.” Her experience is typical, as Loewen (2018) suggests that racism in the US remains an essential factor in shaping interpersonal relationships.
My friend also indicated how her parents had experienced the differential treatment due to their race. “My father believed that life would have been different for them if they were white. I remember he once told me that they could not get better jobs in the country since they had just moved to the United States, and were Chinese. She also believed that her mom could have a better paying job as a nurse, but the reality of their racial background was a factor they settled for.” However, her parents had hopes that things could change for them in the future, especially since their daughter got an American education. Although race plays a vital role in the possibility of getting opportunities in the country, modern times have witnessed an improvement in ending overt racism (Higginbotham 2015). For example, my interviewee still had the opportunity to learn with children from different cultures, and get comparable education. She agreed that her parents appreciated the opportunity that education offered their child to study, and succeed in life.
Childhood Experience
My interviewee has vivid memories of her childhood experience. She informed me that although they lacked many privileges as a working-class family, she was happy. “My parents worked hard, and always reminded me that I was the main reason they had to struggle to make it in life. They wanted to give me the best they could afford. I might have lacked some privileges in life, such as going out for regular shopping, but I got the best, especially in terms of love.” She could also remember how she went out to eat at the restaurant where her father worked. “I enjoyed those days that we could eat out as a family.” She knew that her parents made a considerable effort for her to have an American experience. She said that she never felt deprived regardless of her family’s reality. Her family also appreciated the privilege they got to build a better future for their child. They always had the dream of raising their child in America, and exposing her to the competitive capitalist society to increase her chances of succeeding in life.
What I can remember quite well was my education experience. My parents had ensured that I joined an excellent public school in our neighborhood. “Although we were a working-class family, I got the opportunity of going to a school with real diversity, in terms of racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. My parents also ensured that I never lacked anything that I needed for my education. Since I can remember, I never asked for something twice. I even remember that they bought some school supplies ahead of time.” Her parents adhered to the school of thought held by authors, such as de Andreotti (2014) that education opened the door for global citizenship. Although they had a difficult time finding well-paying jobs in the country, their child stood a better chance since she was born as a global citizen. Such views became her driving force when she went to school since she believed in the image of the great future that her parents created.
Classed Society
After completing the interview with my friend, I realized that the interview questions and her responses centered around the reality of social classes in the United States. I have also studied sociological concepts, and theories that explain the role of class in the country and its numerous effects on individuals and groups, such as families. Social classes are groups of people in a society with similar socioeconomic status (Dubois, Rucker, & Galinsky 2015). Social stratification has been a reality in American, and the whole world for a long time, although theorists started studying the concept of social class from the 19th century. One of the theories that relate to social class is Karl Marx’s Social Theory Of Class, which suggests the ways of distinguishing one type of society from others due to diversity in the modes of production, such as the division of labor, and technology used in production processes (Bertaux & Thompson 2017). Social class plays an essential role in the way the society is structured, and the relationship between members of the different classes.
During the interview, I asked my friend about her understanding of social class as she grew up in American society. She responded that based on what she knows today, social stratification in the United States influenced her childhood. For example, she said, “I can look back at my childhood and realize how my social class impacted on various opportunities in my life, and that of my family”. She added that although she did not lack basic needs, she missed out on many things, such as going out for shopping regularly. Some of her friends at school spoke about how they spent their weekends and school breaks, and she could only envy them. Her parents could not afford some of the privileges. They kept reminding her that she needed to study hard to afford a life similar to that of her friends. My parents always reminded me that I could achieve the dreams of living a better life, but I had to work harder in education, and life in general. Nonetheless, “I now believe that some things in the society are influenced by the social class that you belong”. The quote was a conclusion from my interviewee regarding the question of social class.
Classed Childhood
My friend realized that some of her childhood experiences were as a result of her social class. She indicated: “as I was growing up, I could notice some differences between some children whom we considered wealth and us from the working-class families.” Although the interviewee indicated that she did not understand the social reality when she was young, she became aware later, especially in school, when she started to understand social differences. Stephens, Markus, and Phillips (2014) supported the idea by indicating the reality of social classes in the United States, and the impact on resource allocation across society. My interviewee revealed that she later understood the fact that people can never be the same. However, she found it unfair that some had more than others. It is only later that she learned that it was the reality of the classed society.
My interviewee indicated that her family’s socioeconomic status influenced her childhood reality. My parents belonged to the working class, defined our family and my childhood. She added that “I can only reflect, and realize that various family processes affected my entire childhood. For example, since my parents could not afford a nanny, I had to spend most of my childhood in the daycare. After all, my parents had to go out to work.” my friend is like any other typical child growing up in a working-class family, which cannot afford most privileges. Her family was struggling to earn a decent life in a new country, having left their home in China before she was born. She also revealed that she did not understand much about social differences since her parents taught her to appreciate life, but work harder to have a better future. She did not know how exactly her social mobility would happen, but she believed in her parents.
Social Mobility
According to my interviewee, it is later that she understood her parent’s demand. She acknowledged that her parents wanted her to achieve social mobility. Through reflection, I can now remember how much my parents believed in the possibility of social mobility. The concept refers to the movement of individuals, and groups in social position over time (Heckman & Mosso 2014; Bertaux & Thompson 2017). Some people believe that they can move from their current social class to a higher one, which show their efforts at school and work. My interviewee’s parents were among the people who had high hopes about changing their status. They often told their daughter that they came to the United States to seek better opportunities, and live the American dream. Although they were just working-class parents, they maintained the high hope that their future would be better compared to the current one. She recalled how the conversation about a better life permeated their living room almost every day.
My interviewee indicated that her parent’s understanding of social mobility was to become wealthier or earn more income. “Although they earned a working-class salary, my parents were ambitious. They believed that although they might not achieve their dream of living the American dream, they would still attain it through me. As their only child, I had a huge responsibility of ensuring that our family improved in living standards”. They made me believe that our family would gain more wealth and social status in the United States. They convinced me that we were not stuck at the working class since the world has numerous opportunities, and room for everyone to succeed. However, at my young age, I could not understand the actual implication of their ideas”. Nevertheless, my interviewee indicated that her parent’s pressure to succeed could be one of the reasons she worked hard at school, and pursue higher education. She also maintains the high hope of being successful in life to live her parent’s dream.
Social Stress and Anxiety
However, classed childhood has critical implication on the mental health and wellbeing of children. “I am not sure whether I was happy or depressed about the constant reminder about how I should study hard to have a better life in the future”. Many parents in the United States believe that they should educate their children to achieve social mobility. However, the actual possibility of climbing up the social ladder is debatable. My friend affirmed that she does not believe that the society provides a real chance to improve the social class. However, as a child, she believed her parents when they said that education would improve her life. She also told me that she worked hard at schools and was always among the top students in her elementary school. “I think one of the reasons I studied hard was to avoid disappointing my parents. They had so much hope in me and I felt that I should give them the hope they needed to be happy.” As a result, she would have a lot of stress if she failed to perform well at school since she would feel as though she had disappointed them.
My interviewee’s parents were obsessed with the potential of achieving social mobility. When she was growing up, her parents kept reminding her their motivation to come to the United States. “They once told me that while it might have been hard to leave their home and family, they did not think twice when they got the opportunity to come to the United States”. The stories made her realize the importance of the American dream to her parents. They believed that they would succeed in their new home. Although that was their dream, they transferred it to their only child. She informed me that her parents were so obsessed in the idea of succeeding in the country. “They once told me that we could never return to China as poor people since we came to a country full of opportunities”. She believes that although her family is relatively happy, the obsession on success could be a cause of significant stress and anxiety.
After the interview, I studied the mental health effects of belonging to a social class that one would prefer not to belong. I discovered that many people in the working class abhor poverty, and that they prefer to hold on to the hope that they will climb up the social ladder. As a result, they tend to have considerable social stress and anxiety. The emotional and psychological issues are worse if they lack the means to overcome their poverty, and move to a higher social class. Unfortunately, many scholars suggest the reality of a cycle of poverty. It means that many parents from low-income backgrounds have a significant chance of passing the same to their children (Clark et al. 2015; Bathmaker et al. 2016). The reality is what my friend’s parents might have tried to avoid completely by “motivating” her to work hard in life to improve their socioeconomic status. For example, while her mother was a nurse, she should work hard to become a doctor. Although such as reality existed, it can cause significant stress, especially if the dream seems elusive.
Conclusion
The interview has provided valuable insights regarding the reality of growing up in a classed society or rather, having a classed childhood. Although as children, many people might fail to understand the reality of classed childhood, it exists and has many implications on their lives. I interviewed a friend who opened up to the reality of being a Chinese child from a working-class family in the United States. The interview revealed that although she had some good times growing up in a loving family, she had a share of discrimination, and missed opportunity as a result of being from a different race from the mainstream. She also acknowledged that she has come to understand some of the things that she experienced as a child, such as being treated differently at school. Another important theme that emerged during the interview was the pressure from her family to succeed since they believed in social mobility. They saw their daughter as the much-needed chance for them to come from the working-class status to a better one. Although it caused her social stress and anxiety, since she did not want to disappoint her parents, she, either way, used the pressure as a driving force to excel, especially at school.
My interview has provided relevant knowledge about the effect of a classed society and classed childhood in the United States. Through the things I have studied, sociological theories, and the interview, I now understand that class plays a vital role in the outcomes of many people in the country. for example, it determines where a person lives or goes to school. My friend understands some of the experiences she had as a Chinese girl living in a working-class neighborhood, such as the lack of the chance to go out shopping since they could not afford many luxuries. She also informed me that she had never gone outside the country since her parents were saving the money to give her a better education. She knew that it was good that her parents wanted her to succeed in life, but the pressure also caused the family considerable stress since they had to sacrifice a lot. It is the reality of many working, and even middle-class families struggling to build a better future for their families. Her parents created in her a force that drives her to date. She wants to succeed in life to have a better life for herself, and her family. Social mobility in classed childhood became apparent during the interview.
References
Bathmaker A M, Ingram N, Abrahams J, Hoare A, Waller R, & Bradley H 2016, Higher education, social class and social mobility: The degree generation, Springer, New York.
Bertaux D & Thompson P 2017, Pathways to social class: A qualitative approach to social mobility. Routledge, New York.
Clark G, Cummins N, Hao Y & Vidal DD 2015. The son also rises: Surnames and the history of social mobility. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Clegg SR (Ed.) 2017, Organization theory and class analysis: New approaches and new issues (Vol. 17). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.
de Andreotti VO 2014, Soft versus critical global citizenship education. In Development education in policy and practice (pp. 21-31). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Dubois D, Rucker DD & Galinsky AD 2015, ‘Social class, power, and selfishness: When and why upper and lower class individuals behave unethically,’ Journal of personality and social psychology, vol. 108, no. 3, pp. 436-439.
Friedman S 2016, ‘Habitus clivé and the emotional imprint of social mobility,’ The Sociological Review, vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 129-147.
GarcĆa E & Weiss E 2015, Early Education Gaps by Social Class and Race Start US Children Out on Unequal Footing: A Summary of the Major Findings in” Inequalities at the Starting Gate”. Economic Policy Institute.
Heckman JJ & Mosso S 2014, ‘The economics of human development and social mobility,’ Annu. Rev. Econ., vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 689-733.
Higginbotham FM 2015, Ghosts of Jim Crow: Ending racism in post-racial America. NYU Press, New York
Levine S & Scotch NA 2017, Social stress. In Social stress (pp. 1-16). Routledge, New York
Loewen JW 2018, Sundown towns: A hidden dimension of American racism. The New Press, New York.
Neilson D 2015, ‘Class, precarity, and anxiety under neoliberal global capitalism: From denial to resistance,’ Theory & Psychology, vol. 25, no. 2, pp.184-201.
Savage, M. (2015). Social class in the 21st century. Penguin UK.
Stephens NM, Markus HR & Phillips T 2014, ‘Social class culture cycles: How three gateway contexts shape selves and fuel inequality,’ Annual Review of Psychology, vol. 65, pp. 611-634.
Wells K, 2015, Childhood in a global perspective. John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey
Appendix
Interview Schedule
- What kind of family did you grow up in?
- Did you feel any different from other children in your neighborhood?
- What was your relationship with your parents?
- Did you have many friends at home and school?
- Did you get time to hang out with friends?
- Did your parents ever punish you?
- What special memory did you share with your parents?
- Did you have a happy childhood?
- What were your parents’ expectation for you?
- What was your greatest achievement as a family?
- What were your family’s ambitions?
- What difficulties did you experience growing up?
- How do you feel about the pressure from your parents to succeed?
- What regrets do you have?
- What are your goals in life?
Interview Transcript
Question: What kind of family did you grow up in?
Answer: I can look back at my childhood and realize how my social class impacted on various opportunities in my life and that of my family. I now believe that some things in the society are influenced by the social class that you belong.
Question: Did you have many friends at home and school?
Answer: Some children, mostly whites, could not want to become our friends or play with us. I remember that in most cases, we could only form friendships with those from our racial background. Although some form of treatment would appear normal, it was hard to understand as a child. However, as I grew up, I became aware of the reality of class status in the country. There are things that I simply could not avoid
Question: What were your parents’ expectation for you?
Answer: My parents worked hard and always reminded me that I was the main reason they had to struggle to make it in life. They wanted to give me the best that they could afford. I might have lacked some privileges in life, such as going out for regular shopping, but I got the best, especially in terms of love. I enjoyed those days that we could eat out as a family.
Question: What was your greatest achievement as a family?
Answer: Although we were a working-class family, got the opportunity of going to a school with real diversity, in terms of racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. My parents also ensured that I never lacked anything that I needed for my education. Since I can remember, I never asked for something twice. I even remember that they bought some school supplies ahead of time
Question: What were your family’s ambitions?
Answer: Although they earned a working-class salary, my parents were ambitious. They believed that although they might not achieve their dream of living the American dream, they would still attain it through me. As their only child, I had a huge responsibility of ensuring that our family improved in living standards
Question: What difficulties did you experience growing up?
Answer: I can only reflect and realize that various family processes affected my entire childhood. For example, since my parents could not afford a nanny, I had to spend most of my childhood in the daycare. After all, my parents had to go out to work. My father believed that life would have been different for them if they were white. I remember he once told me that they could not get better jobs in the country because they had just moved to the United States, and they were Chinese. He also believed that my mom could have a better paying job as a nurse, but the reality of their racial background was a factor they settled for.
Question: How do you feel about the pressure from your parents to succeed?
Answer: I am not sure whether I was happy or depressed about the constant reminder about how I should study hard to have a better life in the future. I think one of the reasons I studied hard was to avoid disappointing my parents. They had so much hope in me and I felt that I should give them the hope they needed to be happy.
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