The Arena of Racism / Edition 1

by Michel Wieviorka

Overview

In this important addition to the sociological literature on racism, Michel Wieviorka presents a detailed and revisionary analysis of the vocabulary of racism (prejudice, discrimination, segregation and violence), arguing that racism is not reducible to these elementary forms. He shows how the experiences of institutionalized racism in America and anti-semitism in Europe can be analyzed to provide an understanding of the complex transition from race to racism.

As cultural identies are more and more fragmented in our societies, as the social relations defined by industrial capitalism are in decline, so too are ideas of progress and universality. It is in this context of postmodern social and economic flux that Wieviorka puts forward a definition of racism. He demonstrates that racism has to be understood as an action related to factors fixed in the dislocation between the social and the communal.

One of the key contemporary texts on racism, this book will be essential reading for students of sociology, cultural studies, race relations and political science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803978812
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	08/22/1996
Series:	Published in association with Theory, Culture & Society , #37
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.36(d)

About the Author

Michel Wieviorka is president of the International Sociological Association.

Table of Contents

PART ONE: FROM RACE TO RACISM
Introduction
Race as Explanatory Principle
Race Relations
Prejudice and Personality
Racism as Ideology
Conclusion
PART TWO: THE ELEMENTARY FORMS OF RACISM
Introduction
Levels and Logics of Racism
Prejudice
Segregation, Discrimination
Racist Violence
Conclusion
PART THREE: THE UNITY OF RACISM
Introduction
Social Movements and Racism
Two Patterns of Racism
Communal Identity and Racism
Conclusion
The Unity of Racism

Editorial Reviews

‘Michel Wieviorka is one of France's leading sociologists. Strongly influenced by the theoretical perspectives of Touraine, he is nevertheless a distinctive voice and his writing on several different subjects is original and provocative. Responding to the new expression of racism in France over the past decade or more, with this book, he has stimulated a debate about the meaning and scope of the concept of racism which articulates with the writing of other leading French sociologists and philosophers. But Wieviorka's concerns and focus are not just with France but with the nature and effects of racism in the late twentieth century and it therefore warrants wide attention' - Professor Robert Miles, University of Glasgow

From the Publisher