This brilliant collection of eighteen essays on race and ethnicity in pluralistic societies explains why race and ethnicity remain central concerns of modern life. The myth of America as a "melting pot" of many cultures and ethnicities that have dissolved into one American culture is soundly defeated in this collection of essays organized by Michael Hughey under the editorial guidance of Robert Jackall and Arthur Vidich. This book explains why race and ethnicity continue to play a central role in any dispassionate assessment of American society. Herbert Blumer's masterful essay, "Race Prejudice as a Sense of Group Position" points to the power of social forces and social thought leaders as critical to the resolution of race relations. Walker Connor's essay, "Beyond Reason: The Nature of the Ethnonational Bond" explains why ethno-nationalism continues to play a profound role in identity politics even in multi-ethnic societies such as America.
This book presciently forecasts the social, ethnic and racial conflicts this nation is experiencing in the post Obama era. Hughey and Vidich point to the resurgence of the new tribalism in their article "The New American Pluralism: Racial and Ethnic Sodalities and Their Sociological Implications." Rather than creating a melting pot, America is now experiencing a renaissance of ethnic and racial solidarities that have broad implications for 21st century political campaigns and governance strategies. Hughey is one of this nation's leading sociological scholars and his work, as represented by the essays in this volume, provides a compelling case for what he calls the "new American pluralism."
