The characteristics of minorities in the United States have changed significantly over the past twenty years. Today's better-educated, more highly skilled immigrants must merge with more acculturated minority groups to achieve assimilation while still preserving the rich diversity of their ethnic heritages. This concept is one focus of Rethinking Today's Minorities, a collection of articles by some of the nation's foremost experts in the field of intergroup relations. This volume offers new conceptual overviews by which to compare and evaluate acculturation. The essays also focus on rethinking the nature of minorities long present in the United States, including African, Native, and Asian Americans. Suggestions for policy changes and programs for social action designed to address the needs of minority groups are also included. Following an introductory overview of the changing demographics of today's minorities, the contributors then discuss major developments in minority communities such as the disappearance of formerly distinctive European-American ethnic groups, the continuation of affirmative action, and the molding of policies to benefit Native Americans and refugees. The book then includes essays on the growth of the Puerto Rican community in the U.S. and the emerging Iranian American middle class. The study concludes with a challenge to the media for its role in perpetuating ethnic stereotypes. Rethinking Today's Minorities will be an excellent supplemental text for graduate or undergraduate courses in race and ethnic relations, sociology of minorities, American studies, and immigration history. It will also be an important reference book for school and public libraries.

For undergraduate and graduate introductory level courses in race and ethnic relations. Introducing the core theories, concepts, and issues concerning race and ethnic relations in the United States. Based on the top-selling title by the same author, Strangers to These Shores, this book provides a framework for understanding the interpersonal dynamics and the larger context of changing intergroup relations. Following a presentation of introductory concepts in the first chapter-particularly that of the stranger as a social phenomenon and the concept of the Dillingham Flaw-the first group of chapters examines differences in culture, reality perceptions, social class, and power as reasons for intergroup conflict. These chapters also look at the dominant group's varying expectations about how minorities should "fit" into its society. Chapters 2 and 3 include coverage of some middle-range conflict and interactionist theories. Chapters 4 and 5 explore the dimensions and interrelationships of prejudice and discrimination, and Chapter 6 covers the dominant-minority response patterns so common across different groups and time periods. This chapter presents middle-range conflict theories about economic exploitation too. Chapter 7 employs holistic sociological concepts in discussing ethnic consciousness; ethnicity as a social process; current racial and ethnic issues, fears, and reactions; and the various indicators of U.S. diversity in the 21st century.

Sociohistorical coverage of racial, ethnic, religious and other groups This top-selling comprehensive text examines racial and ethnic relations in the U.S. from a sociohistorical perspective. The book integrates the three main theoretical perspectives and the experiences of more than 50 racial, ethnic, religious, and other groups. The Census Update program incorporates 2010 Census data into a course-simply and easily. The components of the Census Update Program include an updated census edition with all charts and graphs-to reflect the results of the 2010 Census. In addition, A Short Introduction to the U.S. Census is available and an updated MySocLab. Teaching & Learning Experience *Personalize Learning -MySocLab delivers proven results in helping students succeed, provides engaging experiences that personalize learning, and comes from a trusted partner with educational expertise and a deep commitment to helping students and instructors achieve their goals. *Improve Critical Thinking - The book challenges students to think about socioeconomic indicators of minority groups and how they influence culture. *Engage Students - First-hand immigrant accounts and comparative examples help students experience diverse relations on a global scale. *Explore Theory - Covers all major theoretical perspectives. *Support Instructors - MySocLab enables instructors to assess student progress and adapt course material to meet the specific needs of the class.

This best-selling, comprehensive text on racial and ethnic relations in the U.S. covers theoretical issues and the experiences of more than 50 specific groups.