Theories of Race and Ethnicity: Contemporary Debates and Perspectives

How have research agendas on race and ethnic relations changed over the past two decades and what new developments have emerged? Theories of Race and Ethnicity provides a comprehensive and cutting-edge collection of theoretically grounded and empirically informed essays. It covers a range of key issues in race and ethnicity studies, such as genetics and race, post-race debates, racial eliminativism and the legacy of Barack Obama, and mixed race identities. The contributions are by leading writers on a range of perspectives employed in studying ethnicity and race, including critical race feminism, critical rationalism, psychoanalysis, performativity, whiteness studies and sexuality. Written in an authoritative yet accessible style, this volume is suitable for researchers and advanced students, offering scholars a survey of the state of the art in the literature, and students an overview of the field.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction: situating the present Karim Murji and John Solomos; Part I. Debates: Introduction to Part I; 2. Race and the science of difference in the age of genomics Sandra Soo-Jin Lee; 3. Colour-blind egalitarianism as the new racial norm Charles A. Gallagher; 4. Getting over the Obama hope hangover: the new racism in 'post-racial' America Eduardo Bonilla-Silva (with Victor E. Ray); 5. Does a recognition of mixed race move us toward post-race? Miri Song; 6. Acting 'as' and acting 'as if': two approaches to the politics of race and migration Leah Bassel; 7. Can race be eradicated? The post-racial problematic Brett St Louis; Part II. Perspectives: Introduction to Part II; 8. Superseding race in sociology: the perspective of critical rationalism Michael Banton; 9. Critical race feminism Adrien K. Wing; 10. Performativity and 'raced' bodies Shirley Tate; 11. Racism: psychoanalytic and psycho-social approaches Simon Clarke; 12. The sociology of whiteness: beyond good and evil white people Matthew W. Hughey; 13. (Sexual) whiteness and national identity: race, class and sexuality in colour-blind France Éric Fassin; 14. Racial comparisons, relational racisms: some thoughts on method David Theo Goldberg; 15. Conclusion: back to the future Karim Murji and John Solomos.

About the Author :
Karim Murji is based in the Sociology Department at The Open University where he contributes to a wide range of interdisciplinary teaching in the social sciences. John Solomos is Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick where he is also Head of Department.

Review :
'This robust volume connects, illuminates, and transforms theories of race and racism, while bridging the twentieth and twenty-first century. Sophisticated perspectives move through and beyond race, revisiting old questions, identifying new ones. The range of challenging, complex contemporary themes will appeal to new generations of students and researchers, regardless of disciplinary background.' Philomena Essed, Antioch University 'Race and ethnicity are unstable concepts, frequently confused with each other and shifting over time. The meaning of the term 'racism' also changes as new political conflicts take hold. Revisiting and rethinking racial theory and research approaches is crucial if we are to advance understanding and confront ongoing injustices. This book does exactly that, clarifying old debates and focusing attention on new ones. Addressing such themes as resurgent biologistic accounts of race, race/gender/class 'intersectionality', and the ideology of 'colorblindness', and employing a broad, comparative approach, the book both brings us up to date on key issues, and challenges readers politically as well. Solomos and Murji have assembled an indispensable collection, highly suitable for classroom use.' Howard Winant, Director, Center for New Racial Studies, University of California 'A stunning compendium of new and established theoretical ideas about race and ethnicity. This volume brings together established writers with fresh voices to understand the ways racism continues to damage and divide world society. Its main lesson is that we need think harder and in more supple ways in order to understand the enduring power race. This book offers an impressive box of theoretical tools to meet this urgent intellectual and political challenge.' Les Back, Goldsmiths, University of London 'Happily, this collection is instead stimulating. The editors, Professor John Solomos and Dr. Karim Murji, are both prominent sociologists and public academics in the UK with specializations (among other topics) in racialization and migration. They have brought together essays, as well as provided their own detailed commentary on the collection, to show that intellectual thought about racialization processes, both historical and contemporary, is confronting those who champion the notion that we live in a post-racial era.' Vivienne Jackson, Nordic Journal of Migration Research