Balancing Acts: Youth Culture in the Global City - Hardcover

"[A book that] pushes boundaries in ethnography on urban youths by examining culture beyond 'values' and 'codes'." -- Victor Rios American Journal Of Sociology "This emphasis on active research toward the betterment of her subjects and the importance she places on student's own definitions and meanings are an essential anthropological contribution to the study of youth culture." -- Melisa Riviere American Anthropologist

In this timely examination of children of immigrants in New York and London, Natasha Kumar Warikoo asks, Is there a link between rap/hip-hop-influenced youth culture and motivation to succeed in school? Warikoo challenges teachers, administrators, and parents to look beneath the outward manifestations of youth culture - the clothing, music, and tough talk - to better understand the internal struggle faced by many minority students as they try to fit in with peers while working to lay the groundwork for successful lives. Using ethnographic, survey, and interview data in two racially diverse, low-achieving high schools, Warikoo analyzes seemingly oppositional styles, tastes in music, and school behaviors and finds that most teens try to find a balance between success with peers and success in school.