Focuses on interracial and interethnic relations in the US based on a sociological analysis of intergroup processes and the histories of American groups. Within the historical framework, which moves from the colonial period to current immigration legislation, pertinent social topics are discussed, i

As the population of older Americans grows, it is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse. Differences in health by racial and ethnic status could be increasingly consequential for health policy and programs. Such differences are not simply a matter of education or ability to pay for health care. For instance, Asian Americans and Hispanics appear to be in better health, on a number of indicators, than White Americans, despite, on average, lower socioeconomic status. The reasons are complex, including possible roles for such factors as selective migration, risk behaviors, exposure to various stressors, patient attitudes, and geographic variation in health care. This volume, produced by a multidisciplinary panel, considers such possible explanations for racial and ethnic health differentials within an integrated framework. It provides a concise summary of available research and lays out a research agenda to address the many uncertainties in current knowledge. It recommends, for instance, looking at health differentials across the life course and deciphering the links between factors presumably producing differentials and biopsychosocial mechanisms that lead to impaired health.

This book is based on theory-and the most recent 2000 Census data available-to present an informed exploration of the diversity, depth, and significance of racial and ethnic relations in the United States. It is organized by racial-ethnic groups-rather than by issues, and draws heavily on a broad range of research sources that dig deep into the ";what,"; ";why,"; and ";how"; of racial and ethnic oppression and conflict. Fifteen major racial and ethnic groups are examined with regard to their incorporation, economic circumstances, political development, and experience with exploitation. For the numerous scholars, journalists, politicians-and people- concerned with the racial and ethnic issues of discrimination, oppression, and conflict that exist in the U.S.

This accessible, challenging discussion of race relations looks at how institutions shape individual experience and asks how we can prevent a violent splintering of American society along racial lines in the 21st century. Arguing that the best way to understand race relations is through the personal accounts of individuals as they go through the life cycle, this highly readable book uses real life stories to illuminate how families, peer groups, and workplaces influence views about other racial and ethnic groups. The authors hope to inspire readers to intervene and counteract negative perceptions of racial difference through their open, frank discussion of the racial divide.

Stephen Steinberg offers a bold challenge to prevailing thought on race and ethnicity in American society. In a penetrating critique of the famed race relations paradigm, he asks why a paradigm invented four decades before the Civil Rights Revolution still dominates both academic and popular discourses four decades after that revolution. On race, Steinberg argues that even the language of "race relations" obscures the structural basis of racial hierarchy and inequality. Generations of sociologists have unwittingly practiced a "white sociology" that reflects white interests and viewpoints. What happens, he asks, when we foreground the interests and viewpoints of the victims, rather than the perpetrators, of racial oppression? On ethnicity, Steinberg turns the tables and shows that the early sociologists who predicted ultimate assimilation have been vindicated by history. The evidence is overwhelming that the new immigrants, including Asians and most Latinos, are following in the footsteps of past immigrants—footsteps leading into the melting pot. But even today, there is the black exception. The end result is a dual melting pot—one for peoples of African descent and the other for everybody else. Race Relations: A Critique cuts through layers of academic jargon to reveal unsettling truths that call into question the nature and future of American nationality.

The first edition of They and We appeared shortly after the March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his memorable "I Have a Dream" speech. It was published just before the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed by Congress. The book, read by tens of thousands, has been updated and expanded five times, each edition maintaining the original intention of the author to provide grounding in the sociological study of inter-group relations: examining prejudice, discrimination, minority status and other core concepts in straightforward, jargon-free prose, as well as tracking social, economic, political and legal developments. The new, 7th (50th anniversary) edition of They and We continues the tradition, depicting recent demographic changes and persisting patterns (such as the 'leapfrog' phenomenon, where, as in the past, many African-Americans are left behind as newer groups move in, up, and over). It also covers new developments, including the rise of Islamophobia in the wake of 9/11. An entirely new chapter compares perspectives in the United States with situations overseas, particularly with regard to nativist and nationalist movements and the rise of xenophobia in this society and in many others.

In their later years, Americans of different racial and ethnic backgrounds are not in equally good-or equally poor-health. There is wide variation, but on average older Whites are healthier than older Blacks and tend to outlive them. But Whites tend to be in poorer health than Hispanics and Asian Americans. This volume documents the differentials and considers possible explanations. Selection processes play a role: selective migration, for instance, or selective survival to advanced ages. Health differentials originate early in life, possibly even before birth, and are affected by events and experiences throughout the life course. Differences in socioeconomic status, risk behavior, social relations, and health care all play a role. Separate chapters consider the contribution of such factors and the biopsychosocial mechanisms that link them to health. This volume provides the empirical evidence for the research agenda provided in the separate report of the Panel on Race, Ethnicity, and Health in Later Life.