Riches for the Poor: The Clemente Course in the Humanities

Shorris, Earl

ISBN 10: 0393320669 / ISBN 13: 9780393320664

Published by W. W. Norton & Company, 2000

Seller Inventory # 0393320669-3-30529515

Synopsis:

"You've been cheated," Earl Shorris tells a classroom of poor people in New York City.

"Rich people learn the humanities; you didn't. . . . It is generally accepted in America that the liberal arts and humanities in particular belong to the elite. I think you're the elite." In this groundbreaking work, Shorris examines the nature of poverty in America today. Why are people poor, and why do they stay poor? Shorris argues that they lack politics, or the ability to participate fully in the public world; knowing only the immediacy and oppression of force, the poor remain trapped and isolated. To test his theory, Shorris creates an experimental school teaching the humanities to poor people, giving them the means to reflect and negotiate rather than react. The results are nothing short of astonishing. Originally published in hardcover under the title New American Blues.

About the Author: Earl Shorris (1936–2012) was the author of many works of both fiction and non-fiction including Latinos, Under the Fifth Sun, In the Language of Kings, and Riches for the Poor. He was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Clinton for his founding of the Clemente Course in the Humanities®, Inc.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Riches for the Poor: The Clemente Course in ...
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication Date: 2000
Binding: paperback
Condition: Good