Reading from her book “Reading Classes: On Culture and Classism in America,” Barbara Jensen will discuss the model she has developed for illuminating methods and core beliefs of classism. In “Reading Classes,” Jensen explores the anguish caused by class in our society, identifying classism—or anti–working class prejudice—as a central factor in the reproduction of inequality in America. Giving voice to the experiences and inner lives of working-class people, Jensen—a community and counseling psychologist—provides an in-depth, psychologically informed examination of how class in America is created and re-created through culture, with an emphasis on how working- and middle-class cultures differ and conflict. This book is unique in its claim that working-class cultures have positive qualities that serve to keep members within them, and that can haunt those who leave them behind. Barbara Jensen is a counseling and community psychologist.  She has worked with a many service organizations, and maintained a private practice for 25 years. She taught college courses in psychology and sociology, including the Psychology of Women and Working in America, for 20 years.

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