Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation

 

A Hand Up, Not a Hand Out : Negotiations of Poverty and Class Among Low-Income Oregonians Public Deposited

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/2z10wt75m

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  • The Linn and Benton County Gleaner network has helped the low-income families of urban and rural Oregon reclaim moral, social and cultural capital that is lost in the act of being poor in America. Rather than participating solely in government safety nets, these people reject “hand-outs” in favor of exchanging their participation for aid. By embodying the value of merit, Gleaners negotiate their low-income status in a way that allows them to reclaim middle-class values and self-worth. Through 47 personal narratives, participant observation, and a 345 participant survey, this thesis examines how low-income people experience poverty, how they present themselves as middle class, and how contradictions found between qualitative and quantitative data reveal the cultural struggle of being poor in America. This project illustrates the ways that the Gleaner network provides both food and dignity to the low-income people who depend on it.
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