Mixed-Race, Post-Race

Gender, New Ethnicities and Cultural Practices

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by Suki Ali

Berg Publishers

Due/Published January 2005, 256 pages, cloth

ISBN 185973765X

Social scientists claim that we now live in a 'post-race' society, where 'race' has been replaced by 'ethnicity'. Yet racism is endemic to British society and people often think in terms of 'black' and 'white'. With a marked rise in the number of children from mixed parentage, there is an urgent need to challenge simplistic understandings of 'race', nation and culture, and interrogate what it means to grow up in Britain and claim a 'mixed' identity.
Focusing on mixed-race and inter-ethnic families, this book not only explores current understandings of 'race', but it shows, using innovative research techniques with children, how we come to 'read' race. What influence do photographs and television have on children's ideas about 'race'? How do children use memories and stories to talk about racial differences within their own families? How important is the home and domestic culture in achieving a sense of belonging? Ali also considers, through data gathered from teachers and parents, broader issues relating to the effectiveness of anti-racist and multicultural teaching in schools, and parental concerns over the social mobility and social acceptability of their children.
Rigorously researched, this book is the first to combine children's accounts on 'race' and identity with contemporary cultural theory. Using fascinating case studies, it fills a major gap in this area and provides an original approach to writing on race.