Ethnic studies / Ethnicity Books

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe North-South global divide is as much about perception and prejudice as it is about economic disparities. Latin America is no less ruled by hegemonic misrepresentations of its national legal systems. The European image of its laws mostly upholds legal legitimacy and international comity. By contrast, diagnoses of excessive legal formalism, an extraordinary gap between law and action, inappropriate European transplants, elite control, pervasive inefficiencies, and massive corruption call for wholesale law reform. Misrepresented to the level of becoming fictions, these ideas nevertheless have profound influence on US foreign policy, international agency programs, private disputes, and academic research. Jorge L. Esquirol identifies their materialization in global governance - mostly undermining Latin American states in legal geopolitics - and their deployment by private parties in transnational litigation and international arbitration. Bringing unrelenting legal realism to comparative law, this study explores new questions in international relations, focusing on the power dynamics among national legal systems.Table of ContentsIntroduction; 1. The fiction of legal Europeanness; 2. The fiction of failed law; 3. The geopolitics of Latin American legal fictions; 4. Latin American cases; Concluding thoughts.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFew milestones in human history are as momentous as the meeting of three great civilizations on American soil in the sixteenth century. The fully revised textbook Latin America in Colonial Times presents that story in an engaging but informative new package, revealing how a new civilization and region - Latin America - emerged from that encounter. The authors give equal attention to the Spanish and Portuguese conquerors and settlers, to the African slaves they brought across the Atlantic, and to the indigenous peoples whose lands were invaded. From the dawn of empires in the fifteenth century, through the conquest age of the sixteenth and to the end of empire in the nineteenth, the book combines broad brushstrokes with anecdotal details that bring the era to life. This new edition incorporates the newest scholarship on Spain, Portugal, and Atlantic Africa, in addition to Latin America itself, with indigenous and African views and women''s experiences and contributions to colonial socieTrade ReviewPraise for first edition: 'In its attention to the African contribution, and emphasis on the agency of actors at all levels of society and from all ethnic groups, Restall and Lane's work distinguishes itself from other broad histories of colonial Latin America. An excellent introduction to the region's historical complexity and diversity, this is an engaging survey sure to ignite interest among a broad array of students.' David T. Garrett, Reed CollegePraise for first edition: 'Finally, a textbook that offers a broad panorama of colonial Latin American history as well as diverting asides into many of the fascinating anecdotes so loved by both students and instructors. Restall and Lane, among the liveliest and most engaging historians currently writing in this field, draw from the best of recent and classic historical scholarship to paint a dynamic portrait of colonial society, civilization, and religion, without neglecting politics or economics. Latin America in Colonial Times elegantly conveys the nuances of colonial Latin America, never neglecting the details of daily life that capture students' attention. Scholars may even learn something new outside their areas of study.' Nicole von Germeten, Oregon State UniversityTable of ContentsList of maps and in focus boxes; Acknowledgements; Preface: the colonial crucible; Part I. Before the Great Encounter: 1. Native America; 2. Castile and Portugal; 3. Atlantic Africa; Part II. The Long Conquest: 4. The Iberian imperial dawn; 5. Native American empires; 6. The chain of conquest; 7. The incomplete conquest; Part III. The Colonial Middle: 8. Native communities; 9. Black communities; 10. The religious resistance; 11. Deviancy, discipline, and identity; 12. Daily life in the city and country; Part IV. The Age of Change: 13. War and reform; 14. Late-colonial life; 15. Independence; Conclusion; Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this revisionist history of the United States government relocation of Japanese-American citizens during World War II, Roger W. Lotchin challenges the prevailing notion that racism was the cause of the creation of these centers. After unpacking the origins and meanings of American attitudes toward the Japanese-Americans, Lotchin then shows that Japanese relocation was a consequence of nationalism rather than racism. Lotchin also explores the conditions in the relocation centers and the experiences of those who lived there, with discussions on health, religion, recreation, economics, consumerism, and theater. He honors those affected by uncovering the complexity of how and why their relocation happened, and makes it clear that most Japanese-Americans never went to a relocation center. Written by a specialist in US home front studies, this book will be required reading for scholars and students of the American home front during World War II, Japanese relocation, and the history of JapTrade Review'Deeply engaging, original throughout, based on prodigious research in archival records and existing scholarship, Roger W. Lotchin's book is a path-breaking reexamination of the complex multiple causes and the actual human consequences of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066. His reconsideration of the role of racism in the World War II era is especially impressive, insightful, and timely.' William Issel, San Francisco State University'A bold, nuanced, and engaging study of Japanese-American relocation and WWII. This well-researched and passionately argued book deserves to be read by every scholar studying the war and home front. A reconsideration will be debated for decades.' Gary R. Mormino, University of South Florida, St Petersburg'Lotchin uses patience, solid evidence, and an open mind to challenge our racist interpretation of Japanese American 'internment' centers during WWII. His fine book won't end the debate but should force us to confront our well-practiced and comfortable answers to who these people were and how many Americans really viewed them. The greatest testimony to the American identity of the men, women, and children who lived in these centers were the reproduction of the very communities from which they'd been taken and the unremarkable acceptance of these efforts by their captors. The lessons for us today couldn't be clearer or more poignant.' Daniel J. Monti, Saint Louis University, Missouri'This study examines the Japanese American internment experience during WWII from a tenuous historical position: that it was done because of war and nationalism, not racism. Lotchin defines the different groups in this interned community: Issei, who immigrated at the turn of the 20th century, were denied citizenship by law, and often favored Japanese culture; Nisei, the sons and daughters of the Issei, who were American citizens by birth; and Kibei, Nisei who spent time in Japan, learned proper Japanese, and often favored the Japanese cause. In 1942, fearing a fifth column that would welcome Japanese invaders, the army and California believed that removal was the only answer. … The author labels as ideologues modern historians who define internment only as an act of racism. This is an edgy study, and the author sits on a difficult side of history. Summing Up: Recommended.' R. C. Doyle, ChoiceTable of ContentsIntroduction: relocation, a racial obsession; Part I. The Reach of American Racism?: 1. Racism and anti-racism; 2. The ballad of Frankie Seto: winning despite the odds; 3. Chinese and European origins of the West Coast alien dilemma; 4. Impact of World War II: a multicausal brief; 5. The lagging backlash; 6. The looming Roberts Report; 7. Races and racism; Part II. Concentration Camps or Relocation Centers? Definitions versus Historical Realities: 8. Definition versus historical reality: concentration camps in Cuba, South Africa, and the Philippines; 9. Resistance or cooperation?; 10. Bowling in Twin Falls – an open-door leave policy; 11. Daily life: food, labor, sickness, and health; 12. Wartime attitudes toward relocation; 13. Family life, personal freedom, and combat fatigue; 14. Economics and the dust of Nikkei memory; 15. Consumerism: shopping at Sears; 16. The leisure revolution: Mary Kagoyama, the sweetheart of Manzanar; 17. Of horse stalls and modern 'memory' – housing and living conditions; 18. Politics; 19. Culture: of Judo and the Jive bombers; 20. Freedom of religion; 21. Education, the passion of Dillon Myer; 22. The right to know, information and the free flow of ideas; 23. Administrators and administration; Part III. The Demise of Relocation: 24. Politics of equilibrium – friends and enemies on the outside; 25. Endgame: termination of the centers; 26. Conclusion: the place of race; 27. Appendix: Historians and the Racism and Concentration Camp Puzzles by Zane l. Miller.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom a multi-sited ethnography with Swedish migrant women in the United States, Singapore and Spain, the book explores gender vulnerabilities and racial and class privilege in contemporary feminized migration, filling a gap in literature on race and migration.Trade Review“The strength of Lundström’s study lies in the comparative findings of white femininity in different transnational locations. … Catrin Lundström has conducted meticulous research from an engaging perspective and provides the reader with a highly engaging journey through the contradictory locations of white Swedish woman migrants.” (Nelli Ruotsalainen, Nordic Journal of Migration Research NJMR, Vol. 08 (02), 2018)“The book does a wonderful job at exploring the complex intersections of whiteness, gender and class, sexuality and national identity experienced by affluent migrant women in different national contexts. … With its focus on a neglected case of ‘white migration’, the book makes a valuable and refreshing contribution to the increasingly diverse scholarship on migration, and should also appeal to anyone interested in whiteness or gender studies more generally.” (Laura Moroşanu, Review European Journal of Women's Studies White Migrations, ejw.sagepub.com, Vol. 23 (2), May, 2016)"White Migrations is [...] a remarkably precise and lucid analysis of heterosexuality in its intersection with Swedish whiteness. The heterosexuality of her informants is crucial to how their white privilege moves with them, and to the forms it takes in the new contexts where they build their lives. The very specificity of the heterosexual female embodiment of Swedish whiteness is constantly in focus, despite the fact that all Lundström's informants appear to be straight. Heterosexuality is not conflated with gender, and it is not universalized. Although this should be expected in feminist research, it is still a rare accomplishment. Lundström does not make a point of it, but the job she does of describing the specificity of living normative lives in relation to sexuality makes the book a contribution to sexuality studies as well as to migration studies and critical whiteness studies.[...] "For gender studies, White Migrations offers a lesson in how gender, race, class, and sexuality are co-constituted in both the private and the public sphere, and how Nordic whiteness in its heterosexual female variety produces particular life conditions (depending on destination), for those who migrate with it. To silence race in studies of this group is deeply problematic because it extends the naturalization of white privilege. Lundström's book gives an excellent example of how privileged lives can be studied without naturalizing their standpoint. It will be extremely valuable for gender studies scholars who want to explore how white privilege becomes significant in gendered ways, and how it can be understood by those who benefit from it." - Stine H. Bang Svendsen, Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 23(2)Table of Contents1. White Migrations: a Theoretical Framework 2. A Multi-sited Ethnography of Whiteness 3. Doing Similarity in a White-Women's Network 4. Hierarchies of Whiteness in the United States 5. Racial Divisions in Expatriate Lives in Singapore 6. Disintegrating Whiteness in Southern Spain 7. Gender and Whiteness in Motion 8. Migration Studies Revisited

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the essential backstory, the history book that you need if you want to understand modern Russia and its wars with Ukraine, with its neighbors, with America, and with the West.Anne Applebaum, author of Twilight of Democracy and Red Famine Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly and Kirkus ReviewsFrom the great storyteller of Russian history (Financial Times), a brilliant account of the national mythologies and imperial ideologies that have shaped Russia's past and politicsessential reading for understanding the country todayThe Story of Russia is a fresh approach to the thousand years of Russia's history, concerned as much with the ideas that have shaped how Russians think about their past as it is with the events and personalities comprising it. No other country has reimagined its own story so often, in a perpetual effort to stay in step with the shifts of ruling

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisMargaret Malamud is Professor of Ancient History and Islamic Studies at New Mexico State University, where she is also the S.P. and Margaret Manasse Research Chair in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is author of the acclaimed book Ancient Rome and Modern America (2009) and her articles have appeared in the scholarly collections African Athena (2012) and Ancient Slavery and Abolition (2011).Trade ReviewThis is the book that historians of classical reception in America have been awaiting for decades … its meticulous research and clear writing set the bar high for all future studies. * Carl J. Richard, Professor of History, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA *Malamud adds to our understanding of the vital, enduring influence of classical literature on the American experience … Her sensitive account acknowledges the ethical and political challenges involved in the African American pursuit of classical knowledge. * Joy Connolly, Provost and Professor of Classics, CUNY Graduate Center, USA *Malamud’s knowledge of the material is precise and impressive … She shows how much there is to learn from the role that Classics has played in African American history and culture. * Phiroze Vasunia, Professor of Greek, University College London, UK *

Read more less