Contemporary Issues in the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity: A Critical Reader

by Shirley R. Steinberg (Editor), George Jerry Sefa Dei (Editor), Meredith Lordan (Editor)

Overview

Contemporary Issues in the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity: A Critical Reader occupies, expands, and challenges the issues raised by critical race theory. Fleshing out the theoretical pillars of Critical Anti-Racist Theory (CART) as its central organizing framework, this text responds to the central issue of race in terms of public and academic discourses, meta-narratives, and its implications for social policy. Drawing from popular culture, this edited collection features a variety of real-world analyses, from media bias to contentious Africentric school programs. This collection serves as a timely and accessible text for academic and wider audiences. In addition to outlining the philosophical underpinnings of CART, the text considers how this theory may inform current socio-political dynamics in a wide, globally-reaching range of areas. This book could be used in the undergraduate and graduate levels in these disciplines: Anthropology, Diaspora Studies, Education, Ethnic Studies, Law, Multiculturalism Studies, Politics, Social Work, and Sociology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433121098
Publisher:	Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers
Publication date:	03/28/2013
Series:	Counterpoints: Studies in Criticality , #445
Edition description:	Critical
Pages:	189
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

George J. Sefa Dei is a professor and former chair of the Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education, Ontario Institute for the Study of Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT). He was the first Director of the Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies at OISE/UT. He has published widely and is engaged in a wide range of community activism, particularly on issues of critical anti-racism in education.
Meredith Lordan received her doctorate from the Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education, University of Toronto. Her dissertation and subsequent research considers access to education in the context of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. Meredith has also taught at the Toronto District School Board, OISE/UT, the Steps to University Program at the University of Toronto, and United Nations University. She has published work on anti-colonialism, equity issues, change and the political process, and international politics.

Table of Contents

Contents: George J. Sefa Die/Meredith Lordan: Introduction – George J. Sefa Dei: Reframing Critical Anti-Racist Theory (CART) for Contemporary Times – Meredith Lordan: The Race to Self: Critical Anti-Racism Theory in a Global Change Era - heory in a Global Change Era - Lessons from Rio+20 - the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development – Paul Banahene Adjei: When Blackness Shows Up Uninvited: Examining the Murder of Trayvon Martin through Fanonian Racial Interpellation – Philip S. S. Howard: The Smack of Self-Determination: A Fanonian Analysis of the Africentric Schooling Debate in Toronto – Shaun Chen: Schooling, Interrupted: What France’s Last Sociologist Might Have Said about Canada’s First Black-focused School – Brandy Jensen: Race Erased? Arizona’s Ban on Ethnic Studies – Preeia Surajbali: Situating My Standpoint: My Relationship to Black Feminist Thought as an Indo-Caribbean Canadian Woman of Color – Jozef Konyari: Understanding the Pathology and Cure for Euro-Colonial Whiteness: A Psychological, Behavioral, and Systemic Analysis – Mairi McDermott/Marlon Simmons: Embodiment and the Spatialization of Race – Kathleen Conroy: Black Males and Exclusionary Schooling Practices: ‘Common-Sense’ Racism and the Need for a Critical Anti-Racist Approach – George J. Sefa Die/Meredith Lordan: Conclusion: Where Does Critical Anti-Racism Theory Lead Us? Considering Educational, Policy, and Community Implications.

Editorial Reviews

«What a remarkable new synthesis of critical race theory, anti-racist education, and praxis of decolonization! Framed within Critical Anti-Racism Theory, Dei and Lordan bring together a thought-provoking collection of essays that expose contemporary workings of racism in contexts that attempt to deny its existence. The book’s highly engaging chapters develop theoretical tools that enable us to probe meanings and consequences of race and colonialism, and to construct anti-racist humanizing pedagogy in the classroom.» (Christine E. Sleeter, Professor Emerita, California State University Monterey Bay)
«Even in a supposedly ‘post-racial’ era racism is alive and well in all aspects of social and civic life. This volume is an excellent analysis of the many permutations of racism in western society. More importantly, it proposes a number of responses and solutions to what Derrick Bell identifies as one of our ‘permanent’ social flaws. This is a must read for all who are committed to equity and social justice.» (Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin-Madison Kellner Family Professor in Urban Education, Interim Assistant Vice Provost & Director of Chancellors’ and Powers Knapp Scholars Program University of Wisconsin)
«Despite the negativity of detractors, who would silence race critical research on the altar of post-modernism or a renewed variant of class-dominated Marxism, antiracist scholarship continues to flourish and to promote a vital praxis blending critical scholarship and activism. In this important new collection, writers address the complex and changing meanings of race and racism in contemporary education. The collection builds on Dei’s critical anti-racist theory (CART) to provide a challenging, insightful and provocative addition to current debates.» (David Gillborn, Professor of Critical Race Studies, University of Birmingham, UK and editor-in-chief of the international journal ‘Race Ethnicity and Education’)

«What a remarkable new synthesis of critical race theory, anti-racist education, and praxis of decolonization! Framed within Critical Anti-Racism Theory, Dei and Lordan bring together a thought-provoking collection of essays that expose contemporary workings of racism in contexts that attempt to deny its existence. The book’s highly engaging chapters develop theoretical tools that enable us to probe meanings and consequences of race and colonialism, and to construct anti-racist humanizing pedagogy in the classroom.» (Christine E. Sleeter, Professor Emerita, California State University Monterey Bay)
«Even in a supposedly ‘post-racial’ era racism is alive and well in all aspects of social and civic life. This volume is an excellent analysis of the many permutations of racism in western society. More importantly, it proposes a number of responses and solutions to what Derrick Bell identifies as one of our ‘permanent’ social flaws. This is a must read for all who are committed to equity and social justice.» (Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin-Madison Kellner Family Professor in Urban Education, Interim Assistant Vice Provost & Director of Chancellors’ and Powers Knapp Scholars Program University of Wisconsin)
«Despite the negativity of detractors, who would silence race critical research on the altar of post-modernism or a renewed variant of class-dominated Marxism, antiracist scholarship continues to flourish and to promote a vital praxis blending critical scholarship and activism. In this important new collection, writers address the complex and changing meanings of race and racism in contemporary education. The collection builds on Dei’s critical anti-racist theory (CART) to provide a challenging, insightful and provocative addition to current debates.» (David Gillborn, Professor of Critical Race Studies, University of Birmingham, UK and editor-in-chief of the international journal ‘Race Ethnicity and Education’)

From the Publisher