Why Race Still Matters
1. Auflage April 2020
184 Seiten, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Kurzbeschreibung
'Why are you making this about race?' This question is repeated daily in public and in the media. Calling someone racist in these times of mounting white supremacy seems to be a worse insult than racism itself. In our supposedly post-racial society, surely it's time to stop talking about race?
This powerful refutation is a call to notice not just when and how race still matters but when, how and why it is said not to matter. Race critical scholar Alana Lentin argues that society is in urgent need of developing the skills of racial literacy, by jettisoning the idea that race is something and unveiling what race does as a key technology of modern rule, hidden in plain sight. Weaving together international examples, she eviscerates misconceptions such as reverse racism and the newfound acceptability of 'race realism', bursts the 'I'm not racist, but' justification, complicates the common criticisms of identity politics and warns against using concerns about antisemitism as a proxy for antiracism.
Dominant voices in society suggest we are talking too much about race. Lentin shows why we actually need to talk about it more and how in doing so we can act to make it matter less.
Weitere Versionen
'Why are you making this about race?' This question is repeated daily in public and in the media. Calling someone racist in these times of mounting white supremacy seems to be a worse insult than racism itself. In our supposedly post-racial society, surely it's time to stop talking about race?
This powerful refutation is a call to notice not just when and how race still matters but when, how and why it is said not to matter. Race critical scholar Alana Lentin argues that society is in urgent need of developing the skills of racial literacy, by jettisoning the idea that race is something and unveiling what race does as a key technology of modern rule, hidden in plain sight. Weaving together international examples, she eviscerates misconceptions such as reverse racism and the newfound acceptability of 'race realism', bursts the 'I'm not racist, but' justification, complicates the common criticisms of identity politics and warns against using concerns about antisemitism as a proxy for antiracism.
Dominant voices in society suggest we are talking too much about race. Lentin shows why we actually need to talk about it more and how in doing so we can act to make it matter less.
Introduction
One: Race Beyond Social Construction
Two: 'Not Racism(TM)'
Three: Making it About Race
Four: Good Jew/Bad Jew
Conclusion: Talking and Not Talking About Race
Bibliography
Notes
Index
Sydney Morning Herald '13 Books to Take Your Mind of 2020'
"A wide-ranging, powerful and timely account of what race is, what is does, and why it still matters in our supposedly 'post-racial' times. [...] Eloquent and accessible, [... it] is also valuable to a popular audience for whom the book would provide a thorough entry point into thinking more deeply about race and racism and a resource from which to cultivate racial literacy."
The Sociological Review "An important book that sets out both the progressive and dangerous traits of anti-racism."
Göteborgs-Posten
"Decolonial activists are troubled by the tendency, among certain scholars, towards what is ironically called 'the race for theory', or, in other words, academic work which is based on the concept of race but whose real purpose is personal career-building. Alana Lentin escapes this. Not only does this book draw inspiration from decolonial struggles and deepen them, it also fully recognises their legitimacy. For this, my infinite appreciation."
Houria Bouteldja, Spokesperson for the Parti des Indigènes de la République (Party of the Indigenous of the Republic)
"Presently, mainstream intellectual and public discourse fundamentally lacks literacy in race. Lentin's book provides this literacy with rigor, accessibility and honesty. Above all, Lentin explains why race still matters in sociologically and geopolitically expansive ways."
Robbie Shilliam, Johns Hopkins University
