ABSTRACT
This chapter is an introduction to the Handbook of Working-Class Studies section on working-class culture. It examines how culture has been thought about generally in class studies and specifically in the field of working-class studies. Working-class culture has been the object of study for decades, reaching back to the nineteenth century and the birth of the social sciences, most notably sociology. It is often viewed as a deficit culture, the absence of material things such as money and property, or immaterial disadvantage – education, manners, or the appreciation of high culture, etc. Over the years, there has been a growing appreciation of a more rounded working-class culture, one that is richer and deserving of fuller attention. This chapter discusses these issues and then provides summaries of the five distinct chapters in the section. It looks at the power of working-class studies in relation to class cultures and in relation to other disciplines before discussing what new challenges the future might bring, especially relating to working-class people employed in the gig economy.
