Driving after Class: Anxious Times in an American Suburb

by Rachel Heiman

A paradoxical situation emerged at the turn of the twenty-first the dramatic upscaling of the suburban American dream even as the possibilities for achieving and maintaining it diminished. Having fled to the suburbs in search of affordable homes, open space, and better schools, city-raised parents found their modest homes eclipsed by McMansions, local schools and roads overburdened and underfunded, and their ability to keep up with the pressures of extravagant consumerism increasingly tenuous. How do class anxieties play out amid such disconcerting cultural, political, and economic changes? In this incisive ethnography set in a New Jersey suburb outside New York City, Rachel Heiman takes us into people’s homes; their community meetings, where they debate security gates and school redistricting; and even their cars, to offer an intimate view of the tensions and uncertainties of being middle class at that time.

With a gift for bringing to life the everyday workings of class in the lives of children, youth, and their parents, Heiman offers an illuminating look at the contemporary complexities of class rooted in racialized lives, hyperconsumption, and neoliberal citizenship. She argues convincingly that to understand our current economic situation we need to attend to the subtle but forceful formation of sensibilities, spaces, and habits that durably motivate people and shape their actions and outlooks. “Rugged entitlement” is Heiman’s name for the middle class’s sense of entitlement to a way of life that is increasingly untenable and that is accompanied by an anxious feeling that they must vigilantly pursue their own interests to maintain and further their class position. Driving after Class is a model of fine-grained ethnography that shows how families try to make sense of who they are and where they are going in a highly competitive and uncertain time.

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction, Ethnography

308 pages, Paperback

First published January 19, 2015

Reviews

[Mern · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t realize observations on middle class insecurities satiated by bigger houses and conversations on who has a more expensive car could count as research, much less contain enough to fill a book. I just thought that was like the real housewives or something

Either way I thought this book was okay, my main comments wishing the anthropological book was less anthropological and more historical. There was a bit of history but nothing really beyond the generalized conclusions of other historians. I just thought many of her conclusions were not particularly profound or illuminating without further historical analysis / primary sources, especially since her main evidence was the kind of life I grew up living

[Johnny Tran · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful and thoughtful look at how middle-class families navigate the pressures of money, education, and status in suburban America. Zaloom does a great job connecting everyday choices - like college savings, housing, and commuting - to the bigger picture of class and anxiety.

It's part ethnography, part social critique, and while some parts are a bit academic, it feels grounded and real. A good read if you're interested in how ordinary families try to hold on to stability in a constantly shifting economy.

[Ada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last book for anthro class that I didn't finish but read most of. This ethnography is about a white suburb in NJ in the 90s, and it reminded me a lot of the rich white ppl at NU! Liked how it tied the suburban lifestyle in with neoliberalism and class anxieties