Class

This thematic collection covers texts that investigate the particularly fraught dynamics and divisions of class, including Upton Sinclair's The Jungle and Ernesto Galarza's Barrio Boy.

Publication year 2013

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Economics, Society: Class, Society: Immigration, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Immigration / Refugee, Politics / Government, Business / Economics, Sociology


Publication year 2018

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Race, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Play: Comedy / Satire, Race / Racism, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Drama / Tragedy


Publication year 1978

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Society: Class

Tags Historical Fiction, Humor

Fair Weather is a 2001 historical fiction novel set against the backdrop of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. The author is award-winning children’s novelist Richard Peck, known for his incorporation of historical settings and events. Fair Weather follows 13-year-old Rosie Beckett, her two siblings, and her grandfather as they journey from their rural Illinois farm to the bustling city of Chicago, at the invitation of Rosie’s Aunt Euterpe. Through Rosie’s eyes over the course of... Read Fair Weather Summary


Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Society: Community

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Bullying, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Grief / Death, Race / Racism, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Action / Adventure

Originally published in 2014, Fake ID is a mystery/thriller novel written by Lamar Giles and intended for young adults. The narrator and main character is Nick Pearson, a 15-year-old who has just moved to Stepton, Virginia, becoming a Black student in a predominantly white setting. Nick and his family are in the Federal Witness Protection Program (WITSEC). Unintentionally, he finds himself involved in a love triangle and a mysterious murder.As a Black author, Giles is... Read Fake ID Summary


Publication year 1862

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Nation

Tags Classic Fiction, Russian Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction, Philosophy, Philosophy

Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons, sometimes translated more literally as Fathers and Children, is a work of literary fiction first published in 1862. The novel describes Russia’s emerging class divisions and the political divides within the nobility in the 1860s. After the novel’s publication, radicals embracing nihilism turned their support for science and rationality into a defense of Marxism and its emphasis on the objective laws of history and the inevitability of revolution. In literary... Read Fathers And Sons Summary


Publication year 1984

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Identity: Race, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Education, Relationships: Family

Tags Gender / Feminism, Philosophy, Race / Racism, Politics / Government, Social Justice, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Philosophy


Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Class, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, LGBTQ, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Magical Realism, Asian Literature, Gender / Feminism, Fantasy


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Literature, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Femininity, Life/Time: Midlife, Life/Time: The Future, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Historical Fiction, History: U.S., Gender / Feminism, History: World


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Relationships: Teams, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Fantasy, Spy / Espionage, Romance, LGBTQ


Publication year 1884

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Identity: Gender

Tags Satire, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Philosophy, Class, Gender / Feminism, British Literature, Victorian Period, Science / Nature, History: World, Philosophy

IntroductionIn his introduction to Flatland: a Romance of Many Dimensions (1884), British mathematician Banesh Hoffmann describes the novel as “a stirring adventure in pure mathematics” and emphasizes the fundamentally fantastical nature of the story (iii). He also says that author Edwin A. Abbott intended the novel to be instructional. Both the surreal nature of Flatland and its didactic elements are plain, but there is disagreement among scholars and readers on the question of exactly what... Read Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions Summary


Publication year 2011

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Language, Identity: Race, Relationships: Teams, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Society: Immigration, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Natural World: Place

Tags History: U.S., Immigration / Refugee, Social Justice

Flesh and Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy (2011) is a historical nonfiction book intended for an audience of young readers. It was written by Albert Marrin, a former history professor and author of dozens of historical nonfiction books.Marrin, whose academic focus was on liberty under the law, wrote often about times of suffering and movements for liberation, including The War for Independence: The Story of the American Revolution (1988), Years of... Read Flesh and Blood So Cheap Summary


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Fathers, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1933

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Natural World: Animals, Self Discovery, Society: Class

Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, British Literature, Animals


Publication year 1997

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Class, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Fear

Tags Realistic Fiction, Fantasy, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Grief / Death, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Class, Children's Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction

Forged by Fire is a novel for young adults written by Sharon M. Draper. It is the second book in the Hazelwood High trilogy, which focuses on the lives of high schoolers in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was first published in 1997 and won the Coretta Scott King Award. Forged by Fire focuses on the life of Gerald Nickelby, a young African American boy, and his struggles with physical and emotional abuse. Other books in the... Read Forged By Fire Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Bullying


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Modern Classic Fiction

Frankissstein is a novel by Jeanette Winterson that combines speculative and historical fiction in revisiting Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Frankenstein. Winterson is a prolific author, known for her explorations of physical reality, gender, sexuality, and identity. Her first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, won the 1985 Whitbread Prize for First Novel, and Frankissstein was longlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize. Winterson is a professor of Creative Writing at the University of Manchester, and... Read Frankissstein Summary


Publication year 2005

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Society: Class, Society: Economics

Tags Business / Economics, Sociology, Science / Nature, Social Science, Psychology, Psychology, Politics / Government

Rarely does a book about economics attract a large audience, but Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything sold 4 million copies after its 2005 debut. The book, by University of Chicago professor Steven Levitt and journalist Stephen Dubner, explains how incentives—the reasons why people do things—can cause unusual and unexpected effects in many areas of life.Praised and reviled for its outside-the-box approach—the work was condemned for suggesting that liberalized abortion laws... Read Freakonomics Summary


Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Society: Class

Tags Humor, Absurdism, Modern Classic Fiction, French Literature


Publication year 2013

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Immigration, Natural World: Food, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Globalization, Society: Economics, Society: Education, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Nation, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Anthropology, Social Justice, Sociology, Health / Medicine, Education, Education, Anthropology, Food, Politics / Government