Race in Society

The Enduring American Dilemma

By (author) Margaret L. Andersen

Paperback - £63.00

Publication date:

23 June 2017

Length of book:

384 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442258020


Race in Society is a comprehensive, but brief, book that introduces readers to current research scholarship on race, emphasizing the socially constructed basis of race and the persistence of racial inequality in U.S. institutions. The book is anchored in contemporary social science scholarship and is written in a narrative style that makes it accessible to students and a general readership.

The book is intended as an upper division text, primarily for courses in the sociology of race and ethnicity, but it can also be used in other social science and interdisciplinary courses and programs. Its brief character will make it attractive to instructors who want to pair it with other books and/or anthologies. Given the broad public interest in race, the book has the potential to cross into the trade market.

Four themes guide the organization of the book, including:

  1. the social construction of race and ethnicity, as they evolve within systems of power and privilege;
  2. the social dynamics of prejudice, bias and racism, including colorblind racism;
  3. the multiple dimensions of racial stratification in U.S. social institutions;
  4. differing strategies for social change, especially as the United States becomes increasingly diverse by race and ethnicity.
Overall, Race in Society presents the data necessary to develop students’ ability to think critically about the social implications of race . . . Students will undoubtedly develop an understanding of how race is both a permanent fixture and yet a malleable construct in society at the same time. Students will likely appreciate the frequent references to contemporary phenomena such as racialized emojis and the Fight for 15 Movement. By prioritizing the relevance of race and racism through the acknowledgment of how it interacts with other structures in society, students who engage with this textbook will undoubtedly establish a critical sociological imagination, one attuned to how social inequality exists while recognizing that it doesn’t have to persist.