Discipling the Poor

Description

Sanford F. Schram Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, Bryn Mawr College, PA Disciplining the Poor – Neoliberal Paternalism and the Persistent Power of Race Sanford Schram presents research from his new book co-authored with Joe Soss and Richard Fording. Their book explains the transformation of poverty governance over the past forty years—why it happened, how it works today, and how it affects people in the US. Their research shows how welfare policy has been revised to be part of a transformed system of poverty governance that is simultaneously neoliberal—operating according to market principles, and paternalistic—focused on telling the poor what is best for them. In the process, they clarify the central role of race in this transformation and develops a more precise account of how race shapes poverty governance in the post–civil rights era. Among the major findings, they show that after 1996, as states, localities and frontline workers implemented the federal welfare reform, their policy choices and administrative decisions proved to be very sensitive to the racial makeup of welfare recipients. For instance, states with larger percentages of black recipients were far more likely to adopt tougher work requirements, time limits on receipt, sanctions for rule violations, “family caps” denying aid to children born to welfare recipients, and other stringent rules. Other findings demonstrate how racial cues activate implicit racism and lead to black clients being singled out for more punitive treatment. Still other findings show how race operates to intensify the focus on pushing welfare recipients into the lower rungs of the job market. Discussant Margitta Mätzke Bill Clinton signing PROWRA in 1996 “... this legislation provides an historic opportunity to end welfare as we know it...” 16/DEC/2011 - 12.00 pm HS 7, Keplergebäude

Period	21 Jan 2011
Event type	Guest talk
Location	AustriaShow on map