Sherman Alexie: An Ode to the White Urban Working Class

About this episode

The episode explores the historical association of the white working class with urban America and its changing demographics over time.

These days we associate the white working class with rural and small town red America, whereas big blue cities are perceived largely as the playgrounds of the educated and affluent. But it wasn’t all that long ago that the socioeconomics and demographics of blue cities were very different. As early Gen Xers, we vividly remember that during our youth the culture of urban America was indelibly associated with non-college educated white people, and their worldview was deeply ingrained within the...

People in this episode

Hosts: David Hyde, Sandeep Kaushik

Topics covered

• white working class
• urban America
• socioeconomics
• demographics
• Gen X
• cultural identity

Keywords

• white working class
• urban culture
• socioeconomics
• Gen X
• cultural identity
• blue cities
• affluent

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