Product Description

Social scientists claim that we now live in a post-race society, where race has been replaced by 'ethnicity'. Yet racism is endemic to British society and people often think in terms of black and white. With a marked rise in the number of children from mixed parentage, there is an urgent need to challenge simplistic understandings of 'race', nation and culture, and interrogate what it means to grow up in Britain and claim a 'mixed' identity. Focusing on mixed-race and inter-ethnic families, this book not only explores current understandings of 'race', but it shows, using innovative research techniques with children, how we come to read race. What influence do photographs and television have on childrens ideas about 'race'? How do children use memories and stories to talk about racial differences within their own families? How important is the home and domestic culture in achieving a sense of belonging? Ali also considers, through data gathered from teachers and parents, broader issues relating to the effectiveness of anti-racist and multicultural teaching in schools, and parental concerns over the social mobility and social acceptability of their children. Rigorously researched, this book is the first to combine childrens accounts on 'race' and identity with contemporary cultural theory. Using fascinating case studies, it fills a major gap in this area and provides an original approach to writing on race.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #292893 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
'An admirable, indeed heart-warming, book.' Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 'The books conceptual arguments are both persuasive and provocative. Ali introduces theoretical questions with economy and clarity, speaking equally well to scholars and researchers and to educators, activists and parents. While it is theoretically sophisticated and methodologically innovative, this book should gain wide circulation beyond the academy, particularly among teachers.' Kari Dehli, University of Toronto At a time when teachers and other professionals are searching for ways of understanding mixed race and people who construct themselves as insiders to mixed-race categories are debating how to represent themselves, Mixed Race, Post-Race makes an important and timely contribution to this area. It is an original, insightful and theoretically sophisticated analysis of the social representations, common-sense understandings and lived experiences associated with mixed race both Suki Alis o

About the Author
Suki Ali Sociology Department, London School of Economics.