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Young minority men are often portrayed in popular media as victims of poverty and discrimination.
A Dream Denied delves deeper, investigating the social and cultural implications of the "American dream" narrative for young minority men in the juvenile justice systems in Boston and Chicago. This book connects young male offenders' cycles of desistance and recidivism with normative assumptions about success and failure in American society, exposing a tragic disconnect between structural reality and juvenile justice policy. This book challenges us to reconsider how American society relates to its most vulnerable members, how it responds to their personal failures, and how it promises them a better future.
List of contents
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
1. The Role of Agency in the Desistance Process
2. Two Cities, Two Systems, Similar Problems: Juvenile Justice in Boston and Chicago
3. Too Little Too Late: Juvenile Justice as a Social Service Provider
4. Imagining Desistance
5. Weak Ties—Strong Emotions: Caring for Juvenile Off enders in Boston and Chicago
6. The Uncertainty of Freedom: Teenagers’ Desire for Confinement and Supervision
7. “I know how to control myself ”: Autonomy and Discipline in the Desistance Process
About the author
Michaela Soyer is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Hunter College.
Summary
Young minority men are often portrayed in popular media as victims of poverty and discrimination. This book delves deeper, investigating the social and cultural implications of the "American dream" narrative for young minority men in the juvenile justice systems in Boston and Chicago.
Additional text
"Michaela Soyer’s A Dream Denied: Incarceration, Recidivism, and Young Minority Men in America provides an insightful reflection on the paradoxical roles of rehabilitation institutions and, through youths’ own narratives and stories, vividly portrays the challenges faced by young minority men when trying to avoid recidivism and reincarceration."
