The Scar of Race

by Paul M. Sniderman, Thomas Piazza

Overview

What, precisely, is the clash over race in the 1990s, and does it support the charge of a “new racism”? Here is a brilliant articulation of what has happened, of how racial issues have become entangled with politics—the process of negotiating who gets what through government action. We now have to understand and cope with a “politics of race.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674043848
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	07/01/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	228
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Thomas Piazza is Research Specialist and Manager of Technical Services, Survey Research Center, University of California, Berkeley.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1.

THE VARIETY OF RACIAL POLITICS

2.

PICTURES IN THE MIND

3.

COVERT RACISM AND DOUBLE STANDARDS

4.

PREJUDICE AND POLITICS

5.

THREE AGENDAS

6.

CHANGING MINDS ABOUT RACE

CONCLUSION: IRONIES

ABOUT THE SURVEYS

QUESTIONS FROM THE SURVEYS

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE RACE AND POLITICS SURVEY

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Editorial Reviews

This slim book should go a long way to demystify the way Americans think about race.
-- Tamar Jacoby New Republic

The Scar of Race adds a needed perspective. It will advance discussion among specialists in the area and contribute to current efforts to understand the tenacious forces of race and racism in national politics.
-- Lawrence Bobo American Political Science Review

In these troubling times when conflict between blacks and whites and blacks and Jews is so much a part of our everyday lives, The Scar of Race offers a measure of hope for those of us brave enough to admit that there is still much to be learned about the nature of race and prejudice in American society. Beautifully written and cogently argued, this important book should be read and reread by all who seek a better understanding of the world around us.
-- Carol M. Swain, Princeton University

Lots of ordinary folks know it, but it’s not the sort of thing social scientists tend to say: When it comes to questions of public policy, few whites are racists. Whites may oppose particular items on the standard civil rights agenda, but they’re not bigots. That’s the main point…in The Scar of Race and it’s a stinging rebuke to the cultural elite that generally thinks otherwise. ‘It is time to look again at how Americans think about the issue of race,’ Sniderman and Piazza write. They’ve looked again and found not only change but an ongoing openness to change. It’s a heartening message in a beautifully crafted book.
-- Abigail Thernstrom Wall Street Journal

This book is an important addition to recent literature…[which] provides a new and distinctive perspective on the contemporary politics of race.
-- Robert Singh American Politics Review [UK]

From the Publisher

Sniderman (political science, Stanford U.) and Piazza (Survey Research Center, UC Berkeley) discuss the results of five surveys they conducted and draw conclusions on American racial and racist attitudes and politics. The questions and answers of today are not the same, nor so clear, as they were in the 1960s. A note of hope: attitudes might not be as fixed as has been presumed in the past. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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