Race and ethnicity, much like water and air, are all around us. Yet, race and ethnicity remain imprevious to many of us. Hence in this volume authors were challenged to think outside the box. As such, scholars were encouraged to dare to contemplate, to evaluate, and analyze issues regarding race and ethnicity from radically different perspectives. This critical process required them to evaluate their own assumptions and those of their respective disciplines. Therefore, much like walking a tight-rope without a net, the scholars attempt to free themselves from the disciplinarian blinders that often preclude the development of fresh insights. Collectively the papers challenge the way we conceive and perceive of race and ethnicity. As a consequence they go past the ideological constraints that normally limit such discourse by disciplinarian boundaries or disciplinarian myopia. Therefore, these papers provide a critical reappraisal of race and ethnicity.

About the AuthorRodney D. Coates, Ph.D. (1987) in Sociology, University of Chicago, is Professor of Sociology and Gerontology and the Director of Black World Studies at Miami University. He has published extensively in the area of critical race and ethnic relations.

Reviews'This provocative, well-researched volume includes studies of ...the role of the state,...multiple ways of viewing black identity...' Choice Magazine, April 2005.