Description
Book SynopsisThe Shame of Poverty invites the reader to question their understanding of poverty by bringing into close relief the day-to-day experiences of low-income families living in societies as diverse as Norway and Uganda, Britain and India, China, South Korea, and Pakistan. The volume explores Nobel laureate Amartya Sen''s contention that shame lies at the core of poverty. Drawing on original research and literature from many disciplines, it reveals that the pain of poverty extends beyond material hardship. Rather than being shameless, as is often claimed by the media, people in poverty almost invariably feel ashamed at being unable to fulfil their personal aspirations or to live up to societal expectations due to their lack of income and other resources. Such shame not only hurts, adding to the negative experience of poverty, but undermines confidence and individual agency, can lead to depression and even suicide, and may well contribute to the perpetuation of poverty. Moreover, people in p
Trade ReviewThe Shame of Poverty presents innovative and imaginative research that explores the connection between poverty and shame -- a relationship that has been neglected by many poverty scholars. * Faradj Koliev, Political Studies Review *
Table of Contents1. The Origins of Poverty ; 2. Poverty Research and Measurement ; 3. Constructions of Shame ; 4. Poverty, Shame, and Stigma ; 5. Cultural Conceptions of Poverty and Shame ; 6. Conceiving of Poverty Without Shame ; 7. Shame in the Everyday Experience of Poverty ; 8. Responses to Poverty-Related Shame ; 9. Shaming People in Poverty: Attitudes and Actions ; 10. Shaming People in Poverty: Media and Policy ; 11. Poverty, Shame, and Society ; References
