{"product_id":"shape-shifters-9781496206633","title":"Shape Shifters","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eShape Shifter\u003c\/i\u003es presents a wide-ranging array of essays that examine peoples of mixed racial identity, from the Roman and Chinese borderlands of classical antiquity to medieval Eurasian shape shifters, Native peoples of the missions of Spanish California, and African Americans in the post–civil rights era. At different times in their lives or over generations in their families, racial shape shifters have moved from one social context to another. And as new social contexts were imposed on them, identities have even changed from one group to another.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Moving beyond the static either\/or categories of racial identification found within typical insular conversations about mixed-race peoples, \u003ci\u003eShape Shifters\u003c\/i\u003e explores these mixed-race identities as fluid, ambiguous, contingent, multiple, and malleable. With contributions by Ryan Abrecht, George J. Sánchez, Laura Moore, and Margaret Hunter, among others, \u003ci\u003eShape Shifters\u003c\/i\u003e explores the forces of migration\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The essays in this field-shaping work on shape shifters in world history are breathtaking in their breadth and fresh insights, challenging readers to think in provocative new ways about race, social mobility, and belonging from the borderlands of the ancient world to our own border-crossing moment.”—Samuel Truett, associate professor of history at the University of New Mexico\u003cbr\u003e“In \u003ci\u003eShape Shifters\u003c\/i\u003e we are transported on a journey through mixed-race times and spaces that we always wanted to visit but never had the opportunity to do so. . . . \u003ci\u003eShape Shifters\u003c\/i\u003e goes well beyond the ‘passing’ trope to examine fascinating contexts and identity changes. It explores the diverse transformations in these identities, the many different reasons for those changes, and the variety of means by which they happen. It is destined to be a key text in critical mixed-race studies.”—Rebecca King-O’Riain, senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth\u003cbr\u003e\"This diverse group of historians, sociologists, and scholars of ethnic studies explore how shape shifters, either individuals or groups, have changed identities for a variety of complex reasons that include social situations, cultural appeal, outside pressure or coercion, and as a result of pragmatism, idealism, or some combination of both.\"—M. L. Roman, \u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“\u003c\/i\u003eThrough a variety of cutting-edge case studies that stretch from ancient China to the current United States, \u003ci\u003eShape Shifters\u003c\/i\u003e offers a kaleidoscope of fresh vantage points from which to rethink the enduring riddle of identity. The contributors bring to life a diverse array of border-crossers, tricksters, and chameleons who previously remained hidden from view but who could not be more important or more timely to our present-day discussions of race and ethnicity.”—Karl Jacoby, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Strange Career of William Ellis: The Texas Slave Who Became a Mexican Millionaire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This is a smart, captivating, and groundbreaking book. It takes up the long-standing racial passing trope, stretching it to its limit and ultimately ripping it apart. [\u003ci\u003eShape Shifters\u003c\/i\u003e] offers a welcome, deep critique of notions of imposture, authenticity, and appropriation. The book’s interdisciplinary approach beautifully shows the intricacies and nuances of shape shifting. Indispensable reading for those interested in race, ethnicity, border-crossing, gender, and world history.”—Julia María Schiavone Camacho, author of \u003ci\u003eChinese Mexicans: Transpacific Migration and the Search for a Homeland, 1910–1960\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eList of Illustrations\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e 1. Shape Shifting: Reflections on Racial Plasticity\u003cbr\u003e Paul Spickard\u003cbr\u003e Part 1. Different Context, Different Identity\u003cbr\u003e 2. Places of Possibility: Shape Shifting in the Roman and Chinese Borderlands\u003cbr\u003e Ryan R. Abrecht\u003cbr\u003e 3. Rabban Ṣauma: A Medieval Eurasian Shape Shifter\u003cbr\u003e Colleen C. Ho\u003cbr\u003e 4. From \u003ci\u003eFan Gui\u003c\/i\u003e to Friend: American Chinese, Social Identity, and the Quest for Subjectivity\u003cbr\u003e David Torres-Rouff\u003cbr\u003e 5. Becoming Mixed Race: Northern California and the Production of Multiracial Identities\u003cbr\u003e Alyssa M. Newman\u003cbr\u003e 6. “You Are the Shame of the Race”: Dynamics of Pain, Shame, and Violence in Shape Shifting Processes\u003cbr\u003e Angelica Pesarini\u003cbr\u003e Part 2. Choosing Identity\u003cbr\u003e 7. William A. Leidesdorff: The Rise of a Shape Shifter and the Posthumous Fall from Grace of a Racial Imposter\u003cbr\u003e Laura Moore\u003cbr\u003e 8. Indian, Civilizer, Slaveholder, and Politician: The Many Shapes of Peter Pitchlynn\u003cbr\u003e Paul Barba\u003cbr\u003e 9. Half-Butterfly, Half-Caste: Sadakichi Hartmann and the Mixed-Japanese Drama “Osadda’s Revenge”\u003cbr\u003e Rena M. Heinrich\u003cbr\u003e 10. Shape Shifting in the Transpacific Borderlands: Expressions of Japanese Chicano Culture and Identity\u003cbr\u003e Maria Jose Plascencia and George J. Sánchez\u003cbr\u003e 11. Betwixt and Between: A Personal Odyssey through the Twilight Zone\u003cbr\u003e G. Reginald Daniel\u003cbr\u003e 12. Shape Shifting into Blackness in the Post–Civil Rights Era\u003cbr\u003e Margaret Hunter\u003cbr\u003e Part 3. Compelled Identity\u003cbr\u003e 13. Mudrooroo: Aboriginal No More?\u003cbr\u003e Paul Spickard\u003cbr\u003e Contributors\u003cbr\u003e Index","brand":"University of Nebraska Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49409220641111,"sku":"9781496206633","price":56.1,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781496206633.jpg?v=1730506007","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/shape-shifters-9781496206633","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}