The Power of Good Deeds allows us to see behind the media image of upper-class women and to observe how these women use their social power not only to benefit other, less-fortunate people, but also to benefit themselves and their families. Kendall's ethnographic research yields the personal narratives of elite women as they describe their views on philanthropy, the need for exclusivity in their by-invitation-only volunteer organizations (such as the Junior League and The Links), their childhood experiences and college years in prestigious schools and sororities, and the debutante presentations and other upper-class rituals in which they participate. By participating in meetings and social functions with elite women in several Texas cities, and conducting systematic interviews, the author gained unprecedented access to elite women across racial and ethnic categories. The Power of Good Deeds provides new insights and greater depth to our knowledge about the upper classes and how the charitable activities of privileged women contribute to the process of legitimization, maintaining an ideology of class-based and race-based segregation in the United States.
Diana Kendall received a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was invited to membership in Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.
Her areas of specialization and primary research interests are sociological theory, race/class/gender studies, and the sociology of medicine. Her articles and presented papers primarily focus on the scholarship of teaching and on an examination of U.S. women of the upper classes across racial and ethnic groups.
In addition to Social Problems in a Diverse Society, she is the author of The Power of Good Deeds: Privileged Women and the Social Reproduction of the Upper Class (Rowman & Littlefield, 2002) andFraming Class: Media Representations of Wealth and Poverty in America(Rowman & Littlefield, 2005).
Diana Kendall is currently Professor of Sociology at Baylor University, where she has taught a variety of courses, including Introduction to Sociology, Sociological Theory (undergraduate and graduate), Sociology of Medicine, and Race, Class, and Gender. Previously, she enjoyed many years of teaching sociology and serving as chair of the Social and Behavioral Science Division at Austin Community College. Professor Kendall is actively involved in national and regional sociological associations, including the American Sociological Association, Sociologists for Women in Society, the Society for the Study of Social Problems, the Southern Sociological Society, and the Southwestern Sociological Association.
