The American Dream

The "American Dream" is a constantly evolving concept that attempts to encapsule the ideals of a nation. The Dream's roots are bound in a young nation's grappling with the frontier; the Dream at first was the belief that lands to the West would promise prosperity, personal property, and liberty. In more modern times, the Dream assumed social and economic advancement. A simple version of the Dream would be that each generation would have it better than the generation before. In the 21st century, the Dream began to require homeownership and espoused social mobility. As the middle class shrinks and social mobility slows, how does that affect the American Dream? What is that Dream today?

Unit 1 - The American Dream Overview ()

Unit 1 - The American Dream PowerPoint Slides ()

Documents/Readings

• 11 Facts about Education and Poverty in America from DoSomething.org
• The State of Poverty in America (The American Prospect)
• Poverty in America: Why Can’t We End It? (NY Times Opinion)
• Poverty in the 50 Years Since ‘The Other America’ in five charts (Washington Post)
• Poverty in America: Defining the New Poor (NPR)

Websites/Links

• Bread for the World
• Poverty & The United States Census (US Government)
• National Poverty Center (University of Michigan)
• AmericanPoverty.Org
• Cause: Homeless and Poverty from DoSomething.org
• Special Report: The Changing Face of Poverty in America (CNNMoney)
• Poverty in America: One Nation, Pulling Apart (Penn State)
• Oxfam America - Working together to end poverty and injustice (Oxfam)
• PlaySpent (Urban Ministries of Durham)

Video Clips

• 49 Million Americans in Poverty, Census Calculates (PBS)
• Causes of Record Poverty in America (CNN, American Morning)
• 1 in 15 Americans Among the Poorest of the Poor (PBSNewsHour)
• CNN Dialogues – Today’s Other America: Living in Poverty (CNN; Emory University)
• Remaking America – From Poverty to Prosperity (PBS)
• Truth and Hope Poverty Tour (UNC Center for Poverty, Work, & Opportunity and NC NAACP)
• Anna Deavere Smith: “4 American Characters” TED Talk
• Richard Wilkinson: “How Economic Inequality Harms Societies” TED Talk

Suggested/Selected Resources: Books & Films

• The Working Poor: Invisible in America (David Shipler)
• Poverty in America: A Handbook (John Iceland)
• So Rich, So Poor: Why It’s So Hard to End Poverty in America (Peter B. Edelman)
• A People’s History of Poverty in America (Stephen Pimpare)
• A Framework for Understanding Poverty (Ruby K. Payne)
• One Nation, Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects Us All (Mark Rank)
• Nickel and Dimed: On NOT Getting By in America (Barbara Ehrenreich)
• The End of Poverty (film)
• American Winter (documentary)