The Role of Formal Education in American Social Class As A Diasporic Experience

Abstract

Dislocation and hybrid identities, two characteristics of diaspora, are also experienced by individuals undergoing class mobility in the United States of America. I examine how formal education, one mechanism of American class mobility, help create these dislocations and hybrid identities for individuals in class mobility. These dislocations are not limited to geographical dislocations but include mental and experiential dislocation. Those in class mobility in formal education, known as straddlers, experience mental dislocation, and consequently, experience identity management that are similar to those in diaspora.