Description
Book SynopsisAmericans believe strongly in their ethnicity and use it in self-promoting ways. The Ethnic Project shows how destructive ethnic thinking can be in a society that has not let go of racism.
Trade Review"I think that
The Ethnic Project is an outstanding work that makes an important contribution to our understanding of the past and present racial history of the United States. The book is very well written (Bashi Treitler's prose is a delight to read) and meticulously researched . . .
The Ethnic Project should definitely be part of the conversation as we press forward with the task of understanding race in the United States."—Ashley "Woody" Doane,
American Journal of Sociology"Treitler offers a succinct history and diagnosis of racial grouping in the U.S., from the nation's origin to the contemporary moment . . . The text has solid promise as an introductory ethnic studies course reading . . . Highly recommended."—N. B. Barnd,
CHOICE"With her ingenious concept of 'ethnic projects,' Vilna Bashi Treitler brings a new optic to the study of race. She shows that, despite their oppression—indeed,
because of it—minorities develop collective agency. Not only do they mobilize to overcome barriers of discrimination and to remedy past wrongs, but through their activism and cultural production they also transform how they are perceived and treated by their oppressors. Treitler reveals why some ethnic projects are successful, others less so, and thus her book provides an authoritative answer to those who ask the tired question, 'We made it, why haven't they?'"—Stephen Steinberg, author of
Race Relations: A Critique"Vilna Bashi Treitler masterfully weaves race and ethnicity into a single historical narrative that reveals the ugly reality of exploitation and stratification that has always undergirded American society."—Douglas S. Massey, Princeton University
