Race and Ethnicity: Culture, Identity and Representation

by Stephen Spencer

Overview

Broad-ranging and comprehensive, this completely revised and updated textbook is a critical guide to issues and theories of ‘race’ and ethnicity. It shows how these concepts came into being during colonial domination and how they became central – and until recently, unquestioned – aspects of social identity and division. This book provides students with a detailed understanding of colonial and post-colonial constructions, changes and challenges to race as a source of social division and inequality.

Drawing upon rich international case studies from Australia, Guyana, Canada, Malaysia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Ireland and the UK, the book clearly explains the different strands of theory which have been used to explain the dynamics of race. These are critically scrutinised, from biological-based ideas to those of critical race theory. This key text includes new material on changing multiculturalism, immigration and fears about terrorism, all of which are critically assessed.

Incorporating summaries, chapter-by-chapter questions, illustrations, exercises and a glossary of terms, this student-friendly text also puts forward suggestions for further project work. Broad in scope, interactive and accessible, this book is a key resource for undergraduate students of 'race' and ethnicity across the social sciences.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415813815
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/04/2014
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	366
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Stephen Spencer is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Sheffield Hallam University. His research interests include the exploration of ‘race’ and ethnicity, media representation and social identities, as well as the visual and popular cultural mediation of social and political values in everyday life.

Table of Contents

Introduction. 1. Representation 2. The Politics of Naming 3. Colonialism: Invisible Histories 4. Theories of Race and Ethnicity 5. Identity: Marginal Voices and the Politics of Difference 6. Case Study: Indigenous Australians 7. Conflict 8. Living the Contradiction 9. Futures. Glossary. Bibliography. Index