Fast Food, Fast Track: Immigrants, Big Business, And The American DreamHailing from China, the Caribbean, Latin America, and India, a colorful sea of faces has taken its place behind one of the most ubiquitous American business institutions – the fast-food counter. They have become a vital link between the growing service sector in our cities’ ethnic enclaves and the multi-billion dollar global fast-food industry. For four years, sociologist Jennifer Parker Talwar went behind the counter herself and listened to immigrant fast-food workers in New York City’s ethnic communities. They talked about balancing their low-paying jobs and monotonous daily reality with keeping the faith that these very jobs could be the first step on the path to the American Dream. In this original and compelling work of ethnography, Talwar shows that contrary to those arguing that the fast-food industry only represents an increasing homogenization of the American workforce, fast-food chains in immigrant communities must and do adapt to their surroundings. |
Contents
1 Searching for the American Dream | 1 |
Race Place and the Importance of Culture | 17 |
Qualifications Recruitment and the Path to a Fast Food Job | 53 |
Flexibility and Work Time | 69 |
Technologies and Divisions of Labor | 81 |
Managing the Fast Food Personality | 97 |
Ethnic Conflicts and Interactions | 119 |
Other editions - View all
Fast Food, Fast Track: Immigrants, Big Business, And The American Dream Jennifer Talwar Limited preview - 2018 |
Fast Food, Fast Track: Immigrants, Big Business, And The American Dream Jennifer Talwar Limited preview - 2018 |
Common terms and phrases
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