The Study of Racialism Discussion of U.S. Racialism Please read The Rules before posting.    FAQ   Search     Register     Log in  ' Postethnic America Beyond Multiculturalism by D.A. Hollinger          The Study of Racialism Forum Index -> Books of Interest Author Message erasmusinfinity Moderator Joined: 07 Dec 2008 {Posts: 405 } Posted: Wed 04 Mar 2009 01:43    Post subject: Postethnic America Beyond Multiculturalism by D.A. Hollinger I'm just a couple of pages into this one. I'd be curious to see what others who might have already read it think. Available HERE. Publisher's Comments wrote: Sympathetic with the new ethnic consciousness, Hollinger argues that the conventional liberal toleration of all established ethnic groups no longer works because it leaves unchallenged the prevailing imbalance of power. Yet the multiculturalist alternative does nothing to stop the fragmenting of American society into competing ethnic enclaves, each concerned primarily with its own well-being. Hollinger argues instead for a new cosmopolitanism, an appreciation of multiple identities—new cross-cultural affiliations based not on the biologically given but on consent, on the right to emphasize or diminish the significance of one’s ethnoracial affiliation. Postethnic America is a bracing reminder of America’s universalist promise as a haven for all peoples. While recognizing the Eurocentric narrowness of that older universalism, Hollinger makes a stirring call for a new nationalism. He urges that a democratic nation-state like ours must help bridge the gap between our common fellowship as human beings and the great variety of ethnic and racial groups represented within the United States. Back to top fwsweet Administrator Joined: 26 Nov 2004 {Posts: 5376 } Location: Palm Coast, FL Posted: Wed 04 Mar 2009 02:50    Post subject: I have not read this book. I doubt that I will, since I am not very interested in political tracts. In other ways, however, I am disappointed in Hollinger as historian. He is one of many historians who do not hesitate to falsify facts as long as it is in a good cause. On page 1369 of David A. Hollinger, “Amalgamation and Hypodescent: The Question of Ethnoracial Mixture in the History of the United States,” American Historical Review 108, no. 5 (2003): 1363-90, he claims that a person's slave status was determined by his or her genetic admixture, thus leading to the invention of the legal doctrine of the one-drop rule. Both claims are false. Slavery as enforced by the courts was determined solely by matrilineal descent and had nothing to do with admixture. And the first ODR statute was passed in 1910, a half-century after the end of slavery in North America. Back to top erasmusinfinity Moderator Joined: 07 Dec 2008 {Posts: 405 } Posted: Wed 04 Mar 2009 17:45    Post subject: I'll keep those points in mind and maintain a healthy skepticism as I read on. Back to top G-Man Moderator Joined: 27 Nov 2004 {Posts: 2991 } Posted: Wed 04 Mar 2009 18:02    Post subject: Quote: Hollinger argues instead for a new cosmopolitanism, an appreciation of multiple identities—new cross-cultural affiliations based not on the biologically given but on consent, on the right to emphasize or diminish the significance of one’s ethnoracial affiliation. Most people are not cosmopolitans and people are tribal by nature. I'd be curious to hear how the author plans to get the majority of us in an increasingly multicultural society to embrace multiple identities and cross-cultural affiliations. Back to top erasmusinfinity Moderator Joined: 07 Dec 2008 {Posts: 405 } Posted: Wed 20 May 2009 17:23    Post subject: G-Man wrote: Most people are not cosmopolitans and people are tribal by nature. I'd be curious to hear how the author plans to get the majority of us in an increasingly multicultural society to embrace multiple identities and cross-cultural affiliations. I don't think that the author has any neat and pat easy solutions. I gather that, like many of us, he is content working to get at the truth and get it out there- to inform or be informed. HERE is his Berkeley page with a variety of links to articles that he has written pertaining to racialism, and other stuff. If persons are interested in hearing what he has to say, but unable or uninterested in committing the time and energy into reading a whole book, there are a few articles there that require quite a bit less of a commitment. Here are direct links to a few. Obama, the Instability of Color Lines, and the Promise of a Postethnic Future Rethinking Diversity From Identity to Solidarity The One Drop Rule and the One Hate Rule Amalgamation and Hypodescent: The Question of Ethnoracial Mixture in the History of the United States Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First         The Study of Racialism Forum Index -> Books of Interest All times are GMT Page 1 of 1 Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group