The Problem of Race in the Twenty-first Century (The Nathan I. Huggins Lectures)

the Problem Of The Twentieth Century Is The Problem Of The Color-line, W. E. B. Du Bois Wrote In 1903, And His Words Have Proven Sadly Prophetic. As We Enter The Twenty-first Century, The Problem Remains—and Yet It, And The Line That Defines It, Have Shifted In Subtle But Significant Ways. This Brief Book Speaks Powerfully To The Question Of How The Circumstances Of Race And Racism Have Changed In Our Time—and How These Changes Will Affect Our Future. Foremost Among The Book's Concerns Are The Contradictions And Incoherence Of A System That Idealizes Black Celebrities In Politics, Popular Culture, And Sports Even As It Diminishes The Average African-american Citizen. The World Of The Assembly Line, Boxer Jack Johnson's Career, And the Birth Of A Nation Come Under Holt's Scrutiny As He Relates The Malign Progress Of Race And Racism To The Loss Of Industrial Jobs And The Rise Of Our Modern Consumer Society. Understanding Race As Ideology, He Describes The Processes Of Consumerism And Commodification That Have Transformed, But Not Necessarily Improved, The Place Of Black Citizens In Our Society. As Disturbing As It Is Enlightening, This Timely Work Reveals The Radical Nature Of Change As It Relates To Race And Its Cultural Phenomena. It Offers Conceptual Tools And A New Way To Think And Talk About Racism As Social Reality. publishers Weekly in A Country Where Retired U.s. Army Gen. Colin Powell--the Son Of Jamaican Immigrants--can Be Nominated To Be Secretary Of State While A Group Of Servicemen In The U.s. Army Can Form A Neo-nazi Group And Murder An African-american Couple (as Happened In North Carolina In 1997), Readers Don't Need To Turn To Scholars To Ascertain That Race Is An Incredibly Divisive Issue. But They Will Benefit From Holt's Expert And Careful Examination Of These Narratives Of Contradiction And Incoherence As He Attempts To Forecast The Reigning Racial Ethos For The Next Millennium, Just As W.e.b. Du Bois Did When He Declared That The Color Line Was The Problem Of The Twentieth Century. Breaking From Traditional Paradigms, Holt, A Professor Of History At The University Of Chicago, Focuses On What Work Race Does--that Is, What Role It Plays In The Economy And In Consumer Culture. Taking His Cue From Du Bois's Idea That Slavery Was The First Truly Global Market Of Exchange, Holt Details How Shifting Conceptions Of Race Have Dovetailed With The Realities Of The U.s. Economy Before And After Ford's Invention Of The Assembly Line And Mass Production. Within This Framework, He Examines Myriad Phenomena Of Consumer Culture, Such As The Naacp Boycott Of Birth Of A Nation And Michael Jordan's Nike Endorsements. His Major Point Is That The Civil Rights Movement (unlike Many Other Worldwide Movements Of People Of Color) Failed To Emphasize Forging Alliances With Labor. Though He Doesn't Have The Name Recognition Outside The Academy Of A Henry Louis Gates Jr. Or Cornel West, Holt Writes In Clear, Precise Prose (these Essays Were Originally Given As The Nathan I. Huggins Lectures At Harvard) And Makes An Important Contribution To Both Public And Academic Discussions Of Race And Labor And Their Intersections In U.s. Politics. (feb.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information. The Problem Of The Twentieth Century Is The Problem Of The Color-line, W.e.b. Du Bois Wrote In 1903, And His Words Have Proved Sadly Prophetic. As We Enter The Twenty-first Century, The Problem Remains - And Yet It, And The Line That Defines It, Have Shifted In Subtle But Significant Ways. This Brief Book Speaks To The Question Of How The Circumstances Of Race And Racism Have Changed In Our Time, And How These Changes Will Affect Our Future. Foremost Among The Book's Concerns Are The Contradictions And Incoherence Of A System That Idealizes Black Celebrities In Politics, Popular Culture, And Sports Even As It Diminishes The Average African-american Citizen. The World Of The Assembly Line, Boxer Jack Johnson's Career, And The Birth Of A Nation Come Under Holt's Scrutiny As He Relates The Malign Progress Of Race And Racism To The Loss Of Industrial Jobs And The Rise Of Our Modern Consumer Society. Understanding Race As Ideology, He Describes The Processes Of Consumerism And Commodification That Have Transformed, But Not Necessarily Improved, The Place Of Black Citizens In Our Society. As Disturbing As It Is Enlightening, This Timely Work Reveals The Radical Nature Of Change As It Relates To Race And Its Cultural Phenomena. It Offers Conceptual Tools And A New Way To Think And Talk About Racism As Social Reality.--jacket. Introduction: Race, Culture And History -- Racial Identity And The Project Of Modernity -- Race And Culture In A Consumer Society -- Race, Nation And The Global Economy -- Epilogue: The Future Of Race. Thomas C. Holt. Includes Bibliographical References. "The problem of the [20th] century is the problem of the color-line," W. E. B. Du Bois wrote in 1903. His words have proven sadly prophetic. As we enter the 21st century, the problem remains. This book speaks powerfully to the question of how the circumstances of race and racism have changed in our time-and how these changes will affect our future. Contents ......Page 8 Preface......Page 10 Introduction: Race, Culture, and History......Page 16 1. Racial Identity and the Project of Modernity......Page 40 2. Race and Culture in a Consumer Society......Page 72 3. Race, Nation, and the Global Economy......Page 102 Epilogue: The Future of Race......Page 132 Notes......Page 140