Books › Racecraft
Racecraft
304 pages
A paradigm-shifting intellectual journey that dismantles the very vocabulary we use to talk about inequality.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like putting on a pair of glasses that suddenly brings a blurry, confusing world into sharp, sobering focus. The pace is steady and deliberate, demanding that you slow down and interrogate the very language you use to describe human difference. It is an intellectually rigorous and deeply paradigm-shifting experience, replacing vague notions of prejudice with a concrete understanding of how inequality is actively manufactured. The prose is precise, authoritative, and armed with sharp historical analogies that dismantle deeply ingrained myths. It will profoundly satisfy readers who crave structural, root-cause analysis over surface-level commentary, leaving them with a permanently altered, clear-eyed view of American society and the invisible mechanics of oppression.
- Mood
- sobering
- intellectually stimulating
- paradigm-shifting
- eye-opening
- Tone
- analytical
- incisive
- authoritative
- urgent
- rigorous
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- the illusion of race · mechanics of oppression · power of language · systemic inequality · historical myth-making
- The writing
- Precise and scholarly, utilizing sharp analogies and rigorous historical analysis to dismantle complex social constructs.
- The arc
- Moves from an unsettling dismantling of deeply held assumptions to a clarifying, urgent understanding of American inequality.
- Who it's for
- Intellectually curious readers and activists looking to fundamentally rewire their understanding of race and systemic inequality in America.
Content notes
- systemic racism
- historical violence
- discussions of inequality
About the book
"Most people assume that racism grows from a perception of human difference: the fact of race gives rise to the practice of racism. Sociologist Karen E. Fields and historian Barbara J. Fields argue otherwise: the practice of racism produces the illusion of race, through what they call "racecraft." And this phenomenon is intimately entwined with other forms of inequality in American life. So pervasive are the devices of racecraft in American history, economic doctrine, politics, and everyday thinking that the presence of racecraft itself goes unnoticed. That the promised post-racial age has not dawned, the authors argue, reflects the failure of Americans to develop a legitimate language for thinking about and discussing inequality. That failure should worry everyone who cares about democratic institutions."--Dust jacket.
Description from Open Library.
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