De-Facing Power

By Clarissa Rile Hayward

Book Overview

In this major contribution to the power debate, Clarissa Rile Hayward challenges the prevailing view of power as something powerful people have and use. Rather than seeing it as having a face, she argues for a view of power as a complex network of social boundaries--norms, identities, institutions--which define individual freedom, for powerful and powerless alike. The book's argument is supported by a comparative analysis of relationships within two ethnically-diverse educational settings--a low-income, predominantly African-American urban school; and an affluent, predominantly white, suburban school.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521780799
• ISBN13: 9780521780797
• Release Date: August 1970
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 226 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A Fascinating Comparison of Social Circumstance

Professor Clarissa Rile Hayward provides a strong argument that social norms, boundaries, and attitudes have a stronger role in the use of power and empowerment than previously recognized. To demonstrate her position, she details a study of two Connecticut schools, one located in affluent saburbia, and one positioned in a struggling urban center. The book unfolds showing how the different community conditions in these two schools play a critical role in the development of the respective students, and ultimately their power and ability to shape their own lives. It is a contribution to political theory whose potential has not yet been fully recognized.

Basic Textbook

Not exciting to read. Not terribly boring. Successfully gets the point accross. I would not have bought it without it being a required text... If you are interested in re-evaluating socially constructed power dynamics, you might find this interesting. Please seek other reviews.