Natalie Nielsen

My Mom Said She Wanted Me to Grow Up Better Than Her"": a Multi-sited Exploration of the Social Capital and Support of Three Pre-adolescent, African American Girls Striving for Success Natalie Nielsen

Motivated by a concern about the reproduction of social and econonmic inequities across generations, Natalie Nielsen undertook a multi-sited ethnographic study of three African American girls whose aspirations exceeded their mothers' level of educational and professional attainment. This study is broadly situated in social reproduction theory, but rather than studying the generational reproduction of low socio-economic standing, Dr. Nielsen concentrated on mechanisms that might aid urban youth of color in improving their standing in life--a process she calls social (non)reproduction. The study follows Star Princess and Tiffany" as they traverse their multiple worlds of home school church and youth organization. In the study Dr. Nielsen examines the girls' aspirations sources of adult social capital senses of control over the future and messages they hear about the future. "