Professor holds signing to promote book

February 20, 2006 —

by Brandon Kish

Dr. C. Vincent Samarco, associate professor of English, answers questions from students that attended his book signing on Wedesnday in the Roberta R. Allen Reading Room.

Social class was the topic of discussion on Wednesday in the Roberta R. Allen Reading Room as Dr. C. Vincent Samarco gave a reading from his book, Reflections From the Wrong Side of the Tracks: Class, Identity, and the Working Class Experience in Academe.

Samarco, an associate professor of English, was introduced at 4 p.m. by Library Director Linda Farynk, who briefly spoke about his history at SVSU and his accomplishments, which include the publication of around 30 short stories.

Samarco then read from the book's introduction that he wrote titled "Serendipity My Ass." The reading focused on his working class background and life growing up in a working class neighborhood in Detroit. More importantly, though, was the topic of a working class academic - somebody working in academia while coming from this working class background.

The importance of this topic lies in the fact that academic life and blue-collar life are essentially opposites, so adjusting to the world of academia may be quite tough for some working class people.

After the reading, Samarco answered questions from the audience.

A question was raised about alienation from family members after spending time in higher education, and Samarco said that this was a valid point that he agreed with.

Another question came up about the feeling of guilt one may have as an academic who is not following a traditional working class way of life. Samarco responded by saying that intellectual work is greatly different from physical labor, and it can be difficult to not have that feeling of guilt. He mentioned that he feels like he should be doing actual work and then added, "If I were able to make a living as a dishwasher, it would be very tempting."

After taking questions from the audience, Samarco signed copies of his book for those who already had a copy and also anyone who wished to purchase one of the books from him.

While he is promoting Reflections From the Wrong Side of the Tracks, the book is not entirely written by him.

Rather, it is a collection of essays about social class and its role in academe that he co-edited with Stephen Muzzatti, a sociology professor at Ryerson University in Toronto.

They also collaborated on one of the essays, "Working Class Need Not Apply: Job Hunting, Job Interviews, and the Working Class Experience in Academe."

Samarco met Muzzatti while in St. Louis, and says that the book was something they came up with together since they "have a lot of the same experiences because of class."

The book was compiled from essays from contributors of multiple disciplines, and had been completed for around three years before finally being published by Rowman & Littlefield, a New York independent publisher.

But as valuable as these essays are, sometimes reading words on a page is not enough.

"It is important for us at SVSU to talk about social class and how it affects all of us," Samarco said. "You allow information from the dominant culture to define who you are."

Samarco, who also spent time teaching in St. Louis, came to SVSU in 2001 and said that he is happy here.

"I love teaching at SVSU because it's not a place where academic elitism is terribly common," he said. "I feel a sense of camaraderie with students and faculty because of class backgrounds."

Reflections From the Wrong Side of the Tracks is available in hardcover and paperback. It can be ordered from a variety of online retailers or purchased by contacting Samarco at cvsamarc@svsu.edu.