Racism: A Very Short Introduction

by Rattansi, Ali

• ISBN13: 9780192805904
• ISBN10: 0192805908
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-05-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

From subtle discrimination in everyday life and scandals in politics, to incidents like lynchings in the American South, cultural imperialism, and 'ethnic cleansing', racism exists in many different forms, in almost every facet of society. But what actually is race? How has racism come to be so firmly established? Why do so few people actually admit to being racist? How are race, ethnicity, and xenophobia related? Racism: A Very Short Introduction incorporates the latest research to demystify the subject of racism and explore its history, science, and culture. It sheds light not only on how racism has evolved since its earliest beginnings, but will also explore the numerous embodiments of racism, highlighting the paradox of its survival, despite the scientific discrediting of the notion of 'race' with the latest advances in genetics.

Author Biography

Ali Rattansi is Visiting Professor of Sociology at City University, London.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. x
List of illustrations	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Racism and racists: some conundrums	p. 4
Fear of the dark?: blacks, Jews, and barbarians	p. 13
Beyond the pale: scientific racism, the nation, and the politics of colour	p. 20
Imperialism, eugenics, and the Holocaust	p. 45
The case against scientific racism	p. 69
New racisms?	p. 86
Racist identities: ambivalence, contradiction, and commitment	p. 114
Beyond institutional racism: 'race', class, and gender in the USA and Britain	p. 132
Conclusions: prospects for a post-racial future	p. 161
References	p. 175
Further reading	p. 178
Index	p. 183
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