Introduction To Ethnic Studies

This highly readable book offers the first comprehensive definition of the field of ethnic studies, covering both the major issues of the field and its theoretical and methodological approaches. Ethnic Studies traces the origins and evolution of the discipline in the United States and maps its domain. The majority of the work considers central issues in ethnicity such as identity, stratification, adaptation, discrimination, racism, segregation, conflict, ethnicity and politics; and race, class and gender. For each issue, key concepts are introduced, main dimensions outlined, empirical evidence presented, theoretical approaches discussed, and often an alternative perspective is suggested. Yang highlights several current issues in ethnic studies such as affirmative action, illegal/legal immigration, and bilingual education and the English-only movement. He concludes that rather than a divisive force, ethnic studies is, and should be, a discipline that enhances our understanding of ethnic groups and their interrelations and strengthens interethnic and national unity based on ethnic diversity.

Building on the intellectual and political momentum that established the Critical Ethnic Studies Association, this Reader inaugurates a radical response to the appropriations of liberal multiculturalism while building on the possibilities enlivened by the historical work of Ethnic Studies. It does not attempt to circumscribe the boundaries of Critical Ethnic Studies; rather, it offers a space to promote open dialogue, discussion, and debate regarding the field's expansive, politically complex, and intellectually rich concerns. Covering a wide range of topics, from multiculturalism, the neoliberal university, and the exploitation of bodies to empire, the militarized security state, and decolonialism, these twenty-five essays call attention to the urgency of articulating a Critical Ethnic Studies for the twenty-first century.

The book comprises essays, each highlighting a particular word or term germane to the study of race and ethnic studies.