The Agony of Education: Black Students at a White University [Paperback]

Joe R. Feagin (Author), Hernan Vera (Author), Nikitah Imani (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415915120 | ISBN-13: 978-0415915120 | Publication Date: May 2, 1996

The Agony of Education is about the life experience of African American students attending a historically white university. Based on seventy-seven interviews conducted with black students and parents concerning their experiences with one state university, as well as published and unpublished studies of the black experience at state universities at large, this study captures the painful choices and agonizing dilemmas at the heart of the decisions African Americans must make about higher education.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Racial barriers and impediments remain commonplace on white campuses, the authors declare, in a rebuttal to the portraits of campus racial climate by Allan Bloom and Dinesh D'Souza that is only partly convincing. Their research method-focus-group interviews of black students and their parents at an unnamed but typical "State University"-generates candid responses but sacrifices the nuance and analytical depth a journalist might offer. While critics see black student solidarity as separatism, the authors report that parents deem it necessary for support and survival. Similarly, black students effectively lament the absence of black faculty members, the casual racism of frat house "slave auctions" and the inescapable problem of police harassment. The authors' recommendations are all familiar: stronger enforcement of anti-discrimination laws, increased hiring of faculty of color and more multicultural programs. Interviewees ventilate their dilemmas about friendships with whites, and about how black friends don't always approve. However, the authors report that interviewees criticize white reaction to Nation of Islam speakers as "intolerance for diversity"-an issue, like many here, that is surely more complex. Feagin and Vera, coauthors of White Racism, teach sociology at the University of Florida. Imani teaches sociology at James Madison University.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

The Agony of Education is one of the rare and urgently needed volumes that sets out to examine some of the very arduous and complex questions....
–Critical Sociology

This book deserves our praise as being a brilliant piece of sociological research.
–Social Forces

Indeed the book provides what some may characterize as a stinging account of the experiences of black students at white colleges and universities. However, the authors do not focus solely on only the negative aspects of the collegiate experience for black students but also offer positive accounts of their experiences to provide balance and credibility for the findings..
–Qualitative Studies in Education

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (May 2, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415915120
• ISBN-13: 978-0415915120
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #955,321 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Response, December 29, 1999

By 

Christie Teague - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Agony of Education: Black Students at a White University (Hardcover)

Thanks so much for your insight on this subject. I am a black college student and I am at a college where the ratio of blacks to whites is probably 1/50. Our college is small and the population of students is estimated to be 2500. In this case most of the blacks are on one of the sports teams. Where are no cultural diverse classes here for anyone here to take. This year we got a new program called Cultural Anthropology. I feel that it is necessary for everyone not just African-Americans to take a cultural diverse class to learn more about someone of another race or creed. I feel that as far as we have come as a society there are still some things we have yet to accomplish. Being the only Black in most of my classes I feel it is necessary for everyone to understand and comprehend how someone else feels and understand there history and why they, if they do, feel the way they do about certain subjects. Students, I feel, would love to learn about their history and why not put those same feelngs into learning about someone elses.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good addition for any reference library., August 29, 2003

By 

Lonzo (hazleton, pa United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Agony of Education: Black Students at a White University (Paperback)

This book is great for anyone who wants a better understanding regarding the issue of how black students live and perform in white institutions. As a black male I was able to identify with many of the points mentioned in the book. The fact that the authors used data collected from group and individual interviews they conducted was a good idea. The only thing that kept me from giving the book a higher rating was the fact that the authors only used actual school names at certain times. I don't know if this was done to protect the subjects or what. I would have enjoyed the book better if ALL school names were mentioned that they collected data from.