Riches for the Poor: The Clemente Course in the Humanities

by Earl Shorris

Overview

In this groundbreaking work, Shorris examines the nature of poverty in America today. Why are people poor, and why do they stay poor? Shorris argues that they lack politics, or the ability to participate fully in the public world; knowing only the immediacy and oppression of force, the poor remain trapped and isolated. To test his theory, he created an experimental school teaching art, logic, philosophy, and poetry to poor people. Shorris hoped that, by studying the humanities, his students would learn to reflect and negotiate rather than simply react -- and would use this knowledge to break the cycle of poverty on their own. The results of his experiment proved nothing short of astonishing.

Here is the full story -- a completely revised and expanded edition of Shorris's New American Blues -- of the landmark endeavor that has spawned nearly two dozen programs in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and that has been lauded from town meetings in the Yukon to the front page of the New York Times. Included in this book are reading lists and detailed information on the organization, staffing, and teaching methods used in the course.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	2900393320663
Publication date:	09/17/2000
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 5.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Earl Shorris (1936–2012) was the author of many works of both fiction and non-fiction including Latinos, Under the Fifth Sun, In the Language of Kings, and Riches for the Poor. He was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President Clinton for his founding of the Clemente Course in the Humanities®, Inc.

Table of Contents

	Intentions	xiii
I.	Richer Than Rockefeller	3
II.	A Game of Poverty: Definitions	12
III.	Born for Each Other	25
IV.	The Golden Age of Poverty	34
V.	The Surround of Force	40
VI.	The Mirror of Force	50
VII.	The Fallacy of Work	59
VIII.	Citizenship by Exclusion	65
IX.	Across Cultures	78
X.	Political Inventions	85
XI.	A Prison Epiphany	95
XII.	Radical Humanism	101
XIII.	The Clemente Experiment Begins	118
XIV.	The Bard Course	159
XV.	The Curriculum	173
XVI.	Variations and Self-Criticism	216
XVII.	Other Countries, Other Cultures	230
XVIII.	Conclusion: A Dangerous Corollary	253
	Appendix	257
	Index	261