Читать книгу Understanding Racism - Hephzibah Strmic-Pawl - Страница 11

This book has 13 chapters, but it could have had more, or it could have had fewer. I chose these 13 theories because they provide a fundamental grounding in the primary approaches to racism. The book is divided into five parts that provide a guiding organization: “Foundational Theories,” “Micro-Level Theories,” “Macro-Level Theories,” “From ‘Old Racism’ to ‘New Racism,’” and “More Than Race.” The organizational structure of the book is further discussed in the “Features” section of this preface, but here I address the choice of the scholars used to represent each theory. I chose scholars and bodies of work based on a combination of several interrelated factors: (1) the degree to which a theoretical map and concepts are provided; (2) the scholar’s depth of work with the theory, thereby signifying a committed and sophisticated dedication; and (3) the number of citations and general recognition of the work that would indicate the significance of and importance to know it.

Based on these three factors, the choice of scholar is sometimes clear, as in the cases of Michael Omi and Howard Winant, who developed racial formation, or Lawrence Bobo, James Kluegel, and Ryan Smith, who conceived of laissez-faire racism. In a couple of instances, scholarship was culled from multiple researchers who contributed to the theory’s formation, as in the case of the chapter on White privilege, which relies on work by Robert Amico, Peggy McIntosh, Paula Rothenberg, and Tim Wise, and the chapter on colorism, which synthesizes work by Evelyn Nakano Glenn, Ronald Hall, Margaret Hunter, Kimberly Norwood, and others. In two instances, the prejudice and discrimination chapter and the White supremacy chapter, an “Additional Contributions” section, which briefly summarizes another theorist’s perspective, is included after the primary theorist’s work. This section is incorporated because the “additional contribution” was significant and distinct enough from the primary theorist covered that it needed to be included. Yet in many cases, I certainly recognize that other scholars and/or scholarship could have been chosen to represent a particular theory. For example, the chapter on critical race theory is largely based on Derrick Bell and his book Faces at the Bottom of the Well, but there are, of course, many other critical race theorists and other books and articles. However, I also contend that Bell and this book are a good and valuable representation of this theory. Bell is often recognized as the founder of critical race theory; he has numerous books and articles using this theory; and Faces at the Bottom of the Well, according to Google Scholar, had more than 3,400 citations as of January 2020. Every work and theorist used in this book fit a similar bill. Moreover, the point of this book is not to be exhaustive but to provide brief and accessible summaries that represent the heart of each theory.