Doctoral Dissertation Research: Tradeoffs of Economic Mobility and Political Orientation in the Context of Urbanization

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。城市化的兴起往往为年轻人提供了新的经济机会。个人进步的机会可能与平等主义的文化理想形成鲜明对比。由此产生的权衡对中产阶级年轻人的政治动员产生了影响。这篇论文考察了在快速城市化和相对较高的政治和经济不确定性的背景下，经济流动性对政治环境的影响。这项调查考察了不同城市背景下中产阶级专业人士的政治取向的决定因素。使用补充的人类学方法，研究人员记录了政治参与和经济动机的社会层面。除了为研究生在实证、科学数据收集和分析方法方面的培训提供资金外，该项目的发现还与政策制定者、非政府组织和民间社会组织分享，以支持解决经济不平等和预防冲突的倡议。这一博士论文项目研究了推动中产阶级年轻专业人员基于消费和经济流动性的政治参与与基于对社会公正和平等的担忧推动的政治参与的力量。这个项目使用参与者观察来探索年轻专业人士在两种类型的研究网站中的行动和决定：与消费主义相关的网站，如购物中心，以及与激进主义相关的网站，如政治组织会议。为了补充这些方法，研究参与者进行了半结构化访谈和直接观察，以了解影响中产阶级年轻专业人员政治取向的更大网络和社会义务。由此产生的研究结果促进了对中产阶级青年在经济发展和政治优先事项上的动态和潜在影响的更好理解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). The rise of urbanization often provides new economic opportunities for young adults. The opportunities for individual advancement may stand in contrast to cultural ideals toward egalitarianism. The resulting tradeoffs have implications for the political mobilization of middle-class young adults. This dissertation project examines the effects of economic mobility on political settings in the settings characterized by rapid urbanization and relatively high political and economic uncertainty. The investigation examines the determinants of political orientations among middle-class professionals in diverse urban contexts. Using a complement of anthropological methods, the investigators document the social dimensions of political participation and economic motivations. In addition to providing funding for the training of a graduate student in the methods of empirical, scientific data collection and analysis, findings from the project are shared with policymakers, non-governmental organizations, and civil society organizations to support on initiatives that address economic inequality and conflict prevention.This doctoral dissertation project examines the forces that push middle-class young professionals towards political participation based on consumption and economic mobility versus political participation driven by concerns for social justice and equality. This project uses participant observation to explore the actions and decisions of young professionals in two types of research sites: sites associated with consumerism, such as shopping malls, and sites associated with activism, such as political organizing meetings. To complement these methods, semi-structured interviews and direct observations of study participants are conducted to understand the larger networks and social obligations that influence the political orientations of middle-class young professionals. The resulting research findings promote greater understanding of the dynamics and potential impact of middle-class youth on economic development and political priorities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.