Abstract
Katz’s Reformed American Dreams is a thorough account of welfare mothers’ experiences with education and activism, and the implications of them as viewed through the popular American Dream narrative. Using a grounded theory approach, Katz’s book addresses gaps in the existing gendered poverty literature by focusing on mothers’ challenges and positions as students in three levels of higher education (associate’s-, bachelor’s-, and master’s-degree programs) and comparing activist and nonactivist narratives, all through various welfare reform policies and economic times in the United States. A salient aspect to Katz’s research is the information she captured in several waves of interviews. Katz’s position as a scholar-activist and her ability to build and sustain personal relationships provided intimacy and trust with the mothers, which is evidenced by the rich narratives she explores in her book.
The American Dream narrative that permeates the American consciousness purports that through hard work, anyone can achieve economic success and mobility. Katz and the mothers she got to know through her research challenge this narrative in two ways. One, by acknowledging structural constraints such as the work first mentality of welfare policy and single mothers’ capabilities to solely economically support their families, and as participants in gendered institutions. Gender shapes situations causing welfare, structures pathways to educational attainment, and affects familial responsibilities for these women. Activists with Low-Income Families’ Empowerment through Education (LIFETIME) program acutely recognized this impact.
Certainly, a strength of Katz’s book is her involvement in LIFETIME and the profound depth of experiences from its activists. A crucial component of LIFETIME was the peer support of lower-income women working hard to balance the pursuit of their educational goals with supporting their families. When faced with the often contradictory systems of the college financial aid office and the welfare office, for example, LIFETIME activists were sometimes better able to navigate these systems through acquired knowledge and utilization of different survival strategies than the nonactivists. Parent leaders in LIFETIME were instrumental in not only providing practical and emotional support to other mothers but also for their welfare reform advocacy at the local and federal level.
While not an immediate concern of the book, it would have been useful to hear more elaboration on the reasons why women did not participate in the activism of LIFETIME and what sustained the involvement of the LIFETIME activists. Katz identifies the main reasons for noninvolvement as lack of time, as well as the stress and demands of everyday life. Activists’ participation was driven by ideas of fairness and a desire to address structural inequalities, but, in practical terms, how did these mothers manage it all? How did they overcome the daily stressors of balancing school, work, parenting, and activism? Providing more details on the strategies used by activists may assist with the understanding of how activism around social issues can be a feasible addition to the responsibilities of everyday life.
Katz makes a significant contribution to the welfare and women in poverty literature through her focus on higher education and the adjustment of the narrative of its benefit. She dedicates an entire chapter exploring why the mothers in her study said, “My education means everything to me.” Being a good role model to children, acquiring knowledge no one can take away, providing self-esteem, and promoting a feeling of connectedness are all reasons why educational attainment is important to mothers in this study. Of course, they also believed that their pursuit of a college degree would make them less vulnerable in the labor market and provide possible advancement opportunities. Yet, the availability of jobs and other structural constraints impacted their financial well-being, particularly during the 2007-2009 economic downturn where mothers with newly acquired degrees did not always find jobs that paid middle-class wages. Thus, the impact a higher education has on the American Dream is not solely economic. As the mothers’ experiences and narratives suggest, educational attainment is important for various reasons and, as such, expanding access to higher education should be a policy priority for lower income families as well as the supportive mechanisms of available, affordable, and quality health, child care, and housing to make this goal possible.
Katz’s book is well written and well organized and is an approachable read for undergraduate or graduate students in public policy, sociology, poverty, and/or women’s studies. Importantly, the policy recommendations she presents in her book are based on the analysis of the experiences and lives of the single mothers themselves. The American Dream can have meaning beyond economic mobility to include living a fulfilling life through education and time spent with family and community. Policies that provide “a more robust safety net, democratic engagement, and community participation” (p. 169) are crucial components to realize those reformed American dreams.