Notice bibliographique
- Notice
Au format public
Type(s) de contenu et mode(s) de consultation : Texte noté : sans médiation
Auteur(s) : Morning, Ann (1968-....)
Maneri, Marcello
Titre(s) : An ugly word [Texte imprimé] : rethinking race in Italy and the United States / Ann Morning and Marcello Maneri
Publication : New York (N.Y.) : Russell Sage Foundation, copyright 2022
Description matérielle : 1 vol. (xiv-268 p.) : ill. ; 23 cm
Note(s) : Includes bibliographical references (p. 237-259) and index
"Scholars as well as politicians have often assumed that there is a significant gap
between the ways that Americans and Europeans think of race. In the US, the thinking
goes, the notion of race is associated with physical characteristics, while in Western
Europe it has disappeared and its legacy of racism targets cultural incompatibilities.
We gather empirical evidence to test this assumption, interviewing young Italians
and Americans broadly about what we call "descent-based groups." Sidestepping the
usual language of "ethnicity" and "race," which can be unnecessarily narrow, poorly
defined, or simply offensive to some, we cast a wide net in asking our respondents
to tell us how they perceive the distinctions between groups as diverse as Chinese,
Muslims, whites, or Roma. In response to the claim that there is a significant gap
between the ways that Americans and Europeans think of descent-based difference, a
clear rebuttal emerges from our data. While ways of speaking about group difference
vary considerably across the Atlantic, our interviews with young people in Italy and
the United States show that underlying beliefs about it do not. To be sure, they are
not identical, and there are many intriguing and meaningful distinctions to which
we draw attention-for example, in the ways that race is understood to be "constructed."
But the extensive overlap between American and Italian understandings of human difference
cannot be ignored. Nor can they be usefully described as pursuing separate, biological
versus cultural tracks. These findings lead us to propose a new approach for characterizing
concepts of difference that takes into account their multiple dimensions. Specifically,
we break down such concepts into six key components: the traits that are believed
to define descent-based groups; the range or set of groups that are associated with
particular concepts of difference; the presence (or absence) of hierarchy among them;
the mechanisms that are believed to give rise to such groups; and the permanence and
determinism (or consequences) ascribed to defining group traits. Within this framework,
we identify four principal types of concept of descent-based difference in Italy,
with counterparts in the U.S.: biological essentialism; psychological (or "temperamental")
essentialism; cultural primordialism; and a notion of acquired culture. This method
of decomposing concepts of descent-based group difference also helps us pinpoint where
such conceptualization varies most between the U.S. and Italy: in the fixity and consequences
that are attributed to biological and to cultural traits"
Autre(s) forme(s) du titre :
- Autre forme du titre : Rethinking race in Italy and the United States
Sujet(s) : Conscience de race -- Italie
Conscience de race -- États-Unis
Relations interethniques -- Italie
Relations interethniques -- États-Unis
Indice(s) Dewey :
305.8 (23e éd.) = Groupes ethniques et nationaux
Identifiants, prix et caractéristiques : ISBN 9780871546784. - ISBN 0871546787 (br.)
Identifiant de la notice : ark:/12148/cb47122673c
Notice n° :
FRBNF47122673
(notice reprise d'un réservoir extérieur)
Table des matières : Introduction. Thinking and talking about difference ; Debating "race" in Europe
and the United States ; Italian mental maps of difference ; "Race" talk ; Difference
in play : sport and descent ; Conclusion. Rethinking race : a new model of descent-based
difference
