The Price of Higher Education: Experiences of American Student Loan Borrowers

Abstract

This chapter explores the role of student loan debt in the lives of American students and graduates in Wisconsin, US. The total amount of student loan debt in the United States is now at a record high. While debt is considered an integral part of a “forced timeline” toward a greater good, namely the American Dream, it is at the same time a disciplinary mechanism binding individuals to their families in various ways. While most anthropological research on college students and debt has not focused explicitly on student loan debt, this chapter offers insight into a phenomenon currently affecting more than 44 million Americans.

Citation

Krabbe, M.S. (2020), "The Price of Higher Education: Experiences of American Student Loan Borrowers", Wood, D.C. (Ed.) Anthropological Enquiries into Policy, Debt, Business, and Capitalism (Research in Economic Anthropology, Vol. 40), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 109-123. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0190-128120200000040008