The "African Diaspora and the Study of Religion" engages a variety of conversations at the forefront of contemporary scholarship in the study of religion and in African diaspora studies. These conversations include: the construction of racial identity in diverse national settings (Brazil, Mexico, Britain, North America); new religious movements and nationalism; alternative religious narratives in the diaspora; literature read through the lens of diaspora; trans-Atlantic culture (the role of Denmark in Nella Larson's novel "Quicksand," for example, or Ethiopia in Rastafarianism); and the role of the scholar and scholarship in the construction of religious and political meaning.

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An examination of the cultural values of working class Chicana adolescents with an emphasis on the social, political, and economic factors that shape these cultural values. This book addresses a gap in the literature on youth gangs and youth culture by examining the motivations and issues of gang affiliation, teen pregnancy, and academic failure from the point-of-view of teenage girls. Furthermore, the book emphasizes female participation in gangs as well as the impact that gangs have on non- participating adolescents. The author also discusses how current public policy is based on erroneous assumptions associated with the culture of poverty model. This book attempts to explain what appears to be self-defeating behavior of many Chicana adolescents. It explores the logic underlying their life choices and examines the connection between these choices and larger social processes. This book will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty in ethnic studies, multicultural studies, Hispanic Studies, Sociology, and Women's Studies. In addition social service professionals and related professionals will find it helpful.

"On the East-West" Slope explores changing cognitive geographies with regard to Eastern Europe during the late 20th century and the turn of the Millenium. While the fundamental poles of East and West remain, both their meaning and their relationship to one another have shifted profoundly since the late 1970s. The book demonstrates the ways in which supposedly liberal characterizations of East and West project a theoretical slope across the map of Europe, oriented as increasingly negative from West to East. Paradoxically, a liberal discourse of Europeanization "turns ugly" in the context of East European politics as it generates polarizing issues, including extreme nationalism and discriminatory racism, as in the case of the Roma. Finally, the book argues that such paradoxes are not paradoxes at all if we recognize that civilizational slope ideas have a major function in maintaining and reproducing hierarchical world economies. The book is also one of the first attempts to create links between the postcolonial analysis of development in the Third World and changes in Eastern Europe The book seeks to analyze discourses underpinning mental maps of "East" and "West" focusing on individual and institutional actors. In order to understand the East/West positioning and identities of the different actors, the book performs a comprehensive analysis of discourses on population development, of mental maps presented by global corporations and foundations and also a unique hermeneutical analysis of narrative interviews conducted with people crossing East/West borders in the United States, Hungary and Russia. The book will attract a wide international readership. As the book analyzes "empirical" material and reviews a wide range of literature on sociology of knowledge, demography, political science, East European Studies, and postcolonialism, it will prove an essential resource for undergraduate and graduate students and their professors at Western and East European Universities. Readers in recent European nationalism, racism, the history of demographic thought in the 20th century, postcommunism, international political order, globalization and narrative identities are the targeted prime users of the book.

The author explores the ethnic and racial identity formation among high school and college students of racially mixed heritage. The portraits in this book provide a thorough examination of the dynamic ethnic and racial lives of a multifaceted and growing segment of students. Unlike most recent projects on mixed heritage people which are narrow in scope and focus on one set of backgrounds (e.g., black and white or black and Japanese), the subjects in this study represent a vast array of heritages, including those of dual minority ancestry.

The students' stories speak volumes about the uneven nature of racial and ethnic experience within and across traditional communities in contemporary U.S. society. Unlike studies analyzing broad intergroup processes, this work begins by examining the cultural dynamics of the home, contributing valuable insights into the otherwise invisible lives of mixed heritage families. Processes of enculturation and discourse acquisition are considered in the development of ethnic identity. The book also helps to frame how changes within the U.S. racial ecology lead many recently mixed heritage individuals to see themselves as occupying (un)common ground. Finally, this work offers recommendations for educators concerned with creating school contexts that are critically supportive of human diversity.

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2007 Choice Outstanding Academic Title!

"This book should be both a pleasure to read for both those who are immersed in the study of immigration and those less versed in the history and dynamics of these movements. For the latter, In a New Land will provide an excellent and thought provoking introduction. For the former . . . the book will stimulate thought about how to better understand this complex process."
--Douglas Gurak, "Anthropology and Education Quarterly"

a[A] highly valuable contribution to the field. Both historians and sociologists studying immigration will want to read this book.a
--Deirdre M. Moloney, George Mason University

"This important and timely book encompasses a great deal. . . . Foner's definition of race in the 21st century is invaluable."
--"Choice," highly recommended

aExcellent reading for anyone interested in ethnicity, race, and immigration patterns and policies.a
--Bryan Thompson, "Journal of American History"

aFoner does social science a great service, revealing . . . how immigration functions in other contexts, past and present, and in so doing unveiling the peculiarities of the United States as an immigrant-receiving society.a
--Douglas Massey, "Contexts"

aImmensely readable and interesting. . . . Scholars and students of immigration will surely find this book to be interesting, instructive, and indispensable.a Maritsa Poros,
--"International Migration Review"

" In A New Land: A Comparative View of Immigration" uses historical and modern research to provide new insights into todayas immigrants and how they are affecting societies around the world.a
--TheMidwest Book Review

aIn a New Land is the exceptionally well-written and thoughtful work of one innovative comparativist.a
--Donna Gabaccia, "Journal of American Ethnic History"

"The author of a classic comparison of New York's current immigration and that of a century ago, "From Ellis Island to JFK," Nancy Foner has now extended her use of comparative analysis both topically and geographically. Besides looking further and deeper into New York's immigrants 'then and now, ' she makes insightful comparisons 'across space' between the experiences of West Indians in contemporary New York and London and those of a range of recent newcomers in New York and some other American cities. She concludes with a discussion of the differences and similarities in how immigration has been conceived and remembered in the United States and Europe. The book is full of fresh information and new interpretations. Most remarkable is her command of the vast social scientific and historical literature that bears on her subject. In a New Land sets a new standard for interdisciplinary comparative studies."
--George M. Fredrickson, author of "Black Liberation: A Comparative History of Black Ideologies in the United States and South Africa"

"In a New Land is a luminous synthesis that, through astute comparisons, sheds a bright light on key questions about immigration. Foner has much to tell us about continuities and change over the course of a century, the contextual contingencies of race, and the uniqueness and universality of New York City. The book is utterly refreshing."
--Richard Alba, author of "Remaking the American Mainstream: Assimilation and Contemporary Immigration"

According to the2000 census, more than 10% of U.S. residents were foreign born; together with their American-born children, this group constitutes one fifth of the nation's population. What does this mass immigration mean for America? Leading immigration studies scholar, Nancy Foner, answers this question in her study of comparative immigration. Drawing on the rich history of American immigrants and current statistical and ethnographic data, In a New Land compares todayas new immigrants with the past influxes of Europeans to the United States and across cities and regions within the United States. Foner looks at immigration across nation-states, and over different periods of time, offering a comprehensive assessment and analysis.

This original approach to the study of recent U.S. immigration focuses on race and ethnicity, gender, and transnational connections. Centering her analysis on the groups that have come through and significantly shaped New York City, Foner compares today's Latin American, Asian, and Caribbean newcomers with eastern and southern European immigrants a century ago and with immigrants in other major U.S. cities. Looking beyond the United States, Foner compares West Indian immigrants in New York with those in London. And, more generally, the book views the process of immigrantsa integration in New York against other recent immigrant destinations in Europe.

Drawing on a wealth of historical and contemporary research, and written in a clear and lively style, In a New Land provides fresh insights into the dynamics of immigration today and the implications for where we are headed in the future.

Throughout the world, cultural and racial clashes remain a major hurdle to development and progress. Though some areas are experiencing successful intercultural communications which pave the way for peaceful negotiations, there are still many regions experiencing severe turmoil. Impact of Communication and the Media on Ethnic Conflict focuses on both the positive and negative outcomes of communication and media usage, as well as the overall perceptions of these elements, within conflicting populations. Featuring theoretical perspectives on various intergroup interaction experiences within contemporary ethnic controversies, this publication will appeal to scholars, researchers, professors, and practitioners interested in ethnic studies, conflict resolution, communications, and global peace building.

How did all things African disappear from Santo Domingo? How did a white Hispanic identity instead come to dominate the country's collective consciousness? Why did Dominican intellectuals, in trying to create a free and modern society and shield their country from North American imperialism, reengage Spanish neocolonialism? In an effort to explore these questions, the author analyzes and discusses the socio-historical meanings and implications of Pedro Henriquez Urena's (1884-1946) writings on language. This important twentieth century Latin American intellectual is an unavoidable reference in Hispanic Linguistics and Cultural Studies and his texts make us confront the ideological underpinnings of language, race, and identity in the context of Latin America and the pan-Hispanic community.

The complex nature of globalization increasingly requires a comparative approach to literature in order to understand how migration and commodity flows impact aesthetic production and expressive practices. This special issue of Symbolism: An International Journal of Critical Aesthetics explores the trans-American dimensions of Latina/o literature in a trans-Atlantic context. Examining the theoretical implications suggested by the comparison of the global North-global South dynamics of material and aesthetic exchange, this volume highlights emergent Latina/o authors, texts, and methodologies of interest in for comparative literary studies. In the essays, literary scholars address questions of the transculturation, translation, and reception of Latina/o literature in the United States and Europe. In the interviews, emergent Latina/o authors speak to the processes of creative writing in a transnational context. This volume suggests how the trans-American dialogues found in contemporary Latina/o literature elucidates trans-Atlantic critical dialogues.

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In the United States and Japan there are cultural attitudes that both promote and hinder education. While Japanese education is usually described as superior to an American education, a careful examination reveals that in both systems certain values and attitudes are carried to extremes and have a negative impact. This book shows how cultural attitudes shape schools and how Americans and Japanese can overcome the educational maladies in both countries.

Under the present educational centralization Japanese secondary school teachers are severely handicapped in carrying out the goals of cultivating a spontaneous spirit and creating a culture rich in individuality. Although Japanese nursery, kindergarten, and elementary teachers could provide many hints to improve the methodology of their American counterparts, the reverse is true at the secondary and college levels. American teachers try to encourage students to be creative in approaching a problem, writing an essay, and sketching an object, and they will suggest appropriate courses, recommend books, and encourage intellectual challenge, while Japanese secondary school teachers' goal is narrowly focused on presenting designated textual material in as efficient a manner as possible.

In the United States, farmers constitute less than ten percent of the population, but American schools still operate as if students had to return home each day for chores, or as if the summer vacation and fall schedule had to be used to help parents with planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops. Today, most American mothers work full time and children have much more free time and live in less secure urban environments. The amount of time spent attending school in Japan and the United States is just one of the cultural attitudes that is examined in this book.

This is the first comprehensive volume to compare the sociolinguistic situations of minorities in Russia and in Western Europe. As such, it provides insight into language policies, the ethnolinguistic vitality and the struggle for reversal of language shift, language revitalization and empowerment of minorities in Russia and the European Union. The volume shows that, even though largely unknown to a broader English-reading audience, the linguistic composition of Russia is by no means less diverse than multilingualism in the EU. It is therefore a valuable introduction into the historical backgrounds and current linguistic, social and legal affairs with regard to Russia's manifold ethnic and linguistic minorities, mirrored on the discussion of recent issues in a number of well-known Western European minority situations.

This collection of essays breaks new ground in the comparative study of ethnic and racial minorities by showing that there is a common ground shared by those in advanced industrial democracies that differentiates them from Third World and communist countries. The study offers a unique synthesis of diverse views by those who have focused on long-established or ethnoregional minorities and those who have studied recent immigrant populations. The analysis of ethnic tolerance, political factors, and conflict resolution considers why ethnic and racial conflict and disadvantage endure, pointing to ways that societies are organized economically and politically and linked into the international political economy. Students and experts in comparative and minority politics, ethnic and Black studies, and sociology will benefit from the observations and conclusions about the operations of economic and political markets and how they heighten ethnic and racial inequality. The general introduction and conclusion offer theoretical overviews and point to social science paradigms concerning the role of ethnic and racial minorities in the advanced industrial democracies. Noted contributors examine immigration policy and ethnic tolerance; minorities, politics, and the state; political consciousness, organization and participation; and conflict resolution and public policy. A lengthy reference list is given. This volume will be of great interest to interdisciplinary audiences in political science, sociology/social problems, and ethnic and black studies.

After publishing fourteen books of poetry, Rudy Calderon introduces a collection of poetry that compiles the very best of his published poetry as well as introduces the reader to his more recent work. Known for his impassioned deliveries at poetry readings, Calderon has been invited to and read at legendary poetry spots like the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe and the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City as well as in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and throughout the Central Coast of California. Having published a good majority of his work in the Spanish language, this book allows the public to enjoy those poems for the first time in the English language and in-so-doing the reader will understand the level of commitment and reverence Calderon has given to this sacred art in general and to his Mexican-American and Latino sensibilities in particular. Moreover, the poetry community will be able to take-in the cultural, literary, and historical richness found in Calderon's work as they observe a poet who has worked tirelessly and with an unrelenting devotion in his pursuit to lay bare the deep riches of the Mexican-American experience.

Contemporary Europe is in the midst of a cultural and social crisis. Debates over how European societies should respond to their changing ethnic profile lie at the heart of this crisis, whilst the issues raised have been given sharper focus by nationalist political parties espousing an anti-immigration agenda. This book examines the relationship between gender and ethnicity in Europe, viewed from within an immigration framework. To date, much of the research on Europe has treated gender and ethnicity in isolation. The contributors to this collection rectify this. They make the links between these two areas thus giving ethnic minority women greater visibility within the European context. They consider the relationship between gender and ethnicity from a number of thematic perspectives including the feminization of migration, political mobilization by ethnic minority women, women and Islam and the formation of identity. The case studies examine Islamic cultures in Italy, Turkish identity in Germany, the political experience of South Asian women in the UK, migrant women in Spain, challenges to the social reputation of Muslim women in the Netherlands, evolving perceptions in Post-Communist Russia and political activism in France. The book also considers white women's identity and questions whether or not a service caste, drawn from contemporary migrant women, is emerging in today's Europe. Throughout, we learn about the new and different forms of 'Europeanness' that these women are forging.

Despite the fact that Food Studies has grown into a well-established field, literary scholars have not yet fully addressed the prevalent themes of food, eating, and consumption in Chicana/o literature. This exciting anthology examines representations of food in contemporary Chicana/o literary texts. Here, contributors propose food consciousness as a paradigm to examine the literary discourses of Chicana/o authors as they shift from the nation to the post-nation. The essays articulate the transnational and global dimensions and introduce food consciousness as an alternative paradigm to Gloria Anzaldua's 'mestiza consciousness, ' Chela Sandoval's 'differential consciousness, ' and Emma Perez's 'historical consciousness.'

This book explores how language ideologies have emerged for gangtaiqiang through a combination of indexical and ideological processes in televised media. Gangtaiqiang (Hong Kong-Taiwan accent), a socially recognizable form of mediatized Taiwanese Mandarin, has become a stereotype for many Chinese mainlanders who have little real-life interaction with Taiwanese people. Using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, the author examines how Chinese millennials perceive gangtaiqiang by focusing on the following questions: 1) the role of televised media in the formation of language attitudes, and 2) how shifting gender ideologies are performed and embodied such attitudes. This book presents empirical evidence to argue that gangtaiqiang should, in fact, be conceptualized as a mediatized variety of Mandarin, rather than the actual speech of people in Hong Kong or Taiwan. The analyses in this book point to an emerging realignment among the Chinese towards gangtaiqiang, a variety traditionally associated with chic, urban television celebrities and young cosmopolitan types. In contrast to Beijing Mandarin, Taiwanese Mandarin is now perceived to be pretentious, babyish, and emasculated, mirroring the power dynamics between Taiwan and China.

Based on the author's cross-regional fieldwork, archival findings, and critical reading of memoirs and creative works of Tibetans and Chinese, this book recounts how the potency of Tibet manifests itself in modern material culture concerning Tibet, which is interwoven with state ideology, politics of identity, imagination, nostalgia, forgetting, remembering, and earth-inspired transcendence. The physical place of Tibet is the antecedent point of contact for subsequent spiritual imaginations, acts of destruction and reconstruction, collective nostalgia, and delayed aesthetic and environmental awareness shown in the eco-religious acts of native Tibetans, Communist radical utopianism, former military officers' recollections, Tibetan and Chinese artwork, and touristic consumption of the Tibetan landscape. By drawing connections between differences, dichotomies, and oppositions, this book explores the interiors of the diverse agentive modes of imaginations from which Tibet is imagined in China. On the theoretical front, this book attempts to bring forth a set of fresh perspectives on how a culturally and religiously specific landscape is antecedent to simultaneous processes of place-making, identity-making, and the bonding between place and people.

Rural migration invovling land settlement is often a positive force in agricultural development. This book examines its impact in nine case-studies covering a wide time-span in Australia, England, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Latin America, Tanzania, United States and Zambia. MIgrants never operate in a vacuum and this study shows how they attempt to cope withg new restraints and opportunities. The enquiry has important implications for policy makers especially in dealing with refugees and land settlement. It underlines the important role of the agricultural entrepeneur in economic development and the wide range of national policies for the settlement of rural migrants.

Aging, Health, and Longevity in the Mexican-Origin Population creates a foundation for an interdisciplinary discussion of the trajectory of disability and long-term care for older people of Mexican-origin from a bi-national perspective. Although the literature on Latino elders in the United States is growing, few of these studies or publications offer the breadth and depth contained in this book.