Young minority men are often portrayed in popular media as victims of poverty and discrimination. A Dream Denied delves deeper, investigating the social and cultural implications of the “American dream” narrative for young minority men in the juvenile justice systems in Boston and Chicago. This book connects young male offenders’ cycles of desistance and recidivism with normative assumptions about success and failure in American society, exposing a tragic disconnect between structural reality and juvenile justice policy. This book challenges us to reconsider how American society relates to its most vulnerable members, how it responds to their personal failures, and how it promises them a better future.
By:
Michaela Soyer
Imprint: University of California Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 18mm
Weight: 408g
ISBN: 9780520290440
ISBN 10: 0520290445
Pages: 184
Publication Date: 12 July 2016
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction 1. The Role of Agency in the Desistance Process 2. Two Cities, Two Systems, Similar Problems: Juvenile Justice in Boston and Chicago 3. Too Little Too Late: Juvenile Justice as a Social Service Provider 4. Imagining Desistance 5. Weak Ties—Strong Emotions: Caring for Juvenile Off enders in Boston and Chicago 6. The Uncertainty of Freedom: Teenagers’ Desire for Confinement and Supervision 7. “I know how to control myself ”: Autonomy and Discipline in the Desistance Process
Michaela Soyer is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Hunter College.
Reviews for A Dream Denied: Incarceration, Recidivism, and Young Minority Men in America
One of the most profound findings of Soyer's book is how desperately these young people want to make a change in their lives... the connection of the American Dream mythology to institutions of change is a worthy contribution, and Soyer's critical gaze as a result of having grown up in Germany is unique. * Theoretical Criminology *