Understanding Race and Ethnic Relations (3rd Edition) [Paperback]

Vincent N. Parrillo (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0205530567 | ISBN-13: 978-0205530564 | Publication Date: March 2, 2007 | Edition: 3

A brief, economical introduction to the core theories, concepts, and issues for students studying race and ethnic relations in the United States.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Thank you to our reviewers!

 

Theresa Gilbertson, University of Southern Florida Sarasota-Manatee

Nekehia Quashie, University of Utah

 

 

“Overall, this book provides comprehensive insight into the foundations of the relationships and interactions we observe between racial and ethnic groups both historically and contemporaneously.”

Nekehia Quashie, University of Utah

 

“Parrillo's expertise in issues of ethnicity, culture, and diversity make him a most credible author whose writing style is both stimulating and easy to ‘digest'.”

Theresa Gilbertson, University of Southern Florida Sarasota-Manatee

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

Understanding Racial and Ethnic Relations, Third Edition

Vincent N. Parrillo, William Paterson University

This text is a brief, economical introduction to the core theories, concepts, and issues for students studying race and ethnic relations in the United States.

 

This new edition contains thoroughly updated data and information, including the most recent and relevant studies not only in sociology but also in many other related fields. There are expanded discussions throughout the text, including: the shaping of perceptions, social distance, difference between race and ethnicity, the culture of poverty, and more.

 

Also, the last chapter, “Contemporary Patterns and Issues,” has been extensively revised to reflect recent and current events.  Added are new sections on transnationalism, social capital, segmented assimilation, naturalization, and language retention. This chapter, enhanced by the use of graphics to further student understanding, thoroughly examines the extensive debate and actions surrounding legal immigration and undocumented migrants.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon; 3 edition (March 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0205530567
• ISBN-13: 978-0205530564
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #204,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good choice for my students!, March 14, 2002

By 

Don P. Stewart "Don Stewart" (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Understanding Race and Ethnic Relations (Paperback)

Dr. Parrillo's prior works have been excellent; this book is a perfect fit for a class I developed, and teach, at UNLV: Racial and Ethnic Groups of the United States. With its concise sociological construction, its thoughtful analaysis of the powers of prejudice, and its exploration of dominant-minority relations in millennial America, it makes excellent and informative reading for my students.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book for intro courses on racial/ethnic relations, May 9, 2005

By 

Vato-Curandero - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding Race and Ethnic Relations (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is teaching sociology or anthropology classes on racial and ethnic relations as one of the textbooks to use in class. This book introduces students to a wide variety of concepts and theoretical orientations that are or have been prominent in the sociology of racial inequality over the past 50 - 100 years, such as Park's race relations cycle, Gordon's assimilation theory, Hansen's three generation hypothesis, and Moynihan's "culture of poverty" paradigm.

Unlike most other textbooks that deal with this subject matter, Parrillo does not organize chapters around particular racial/ethnic groups. Instead, chapters are organized by thematic concepts, such as prejudice, discrimination, and the future of ethnicity in the United States. Parrillo incorporates a tremendous diversity of theoretical frameworks and sociological concepts throughout the text - the most important being the "Dillingham Flaw" (intentionally making a flawed comparison, based on past phenomena that no longer exist or have changed considerably).

This book is perfect for teaching freshman-level race courses at universities. Students often enter these classes with averse, angry attitudes and hostile outlooks. In the first chapter, Parrillo actually discusses this problem, pointing out why intellectual conversations on race that aim for rational analysis of data and empiricism are difficult for students. Students often have trouble keeping their own emotions in check and have difficulty looking at things "outside the box" - a necessary endeavor for quality social science analysis. This is the only book I know of that speaks to and addresses the emotional reactions people usually get when discussing race.

My favorite part of the book is Chapter 2, especially the section on "Theories of Minority Integration" where the author discusses different ideologies a society may employ regarding ethnic diversity (assimilation, amalgamation, or pluralism). His discussion of a multitude of different and conflicting social and psychological theories regarding the origins of prejudice and discrimination are also top notch.

There is nothing negative I can say about this book. It is extremely informative, written in a plain-English prose, and should have trouble in grabbing and retaining the reader's interest.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Brief, December 18, 2011

By 

Lisa Shea "medieval swordfighting enthusiast" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Understanding Race and Ethnic Relations (4th Edition) (Paperback)

I was in an interesting situation in my fall term of college classes. I ended up with three different courses which all, in one way or another, were looking into issues of race and ethnicity. One of them was explicitly on the topic of Race & Ethnicity, and that course chose this book as their textbook. This was a twelve week long course.

My first impression when beginning the book was that it was VERY short. It's a small format paperback, with small pages, and there are only 185 pages of content. That includes all the end-of-chapter summaries too. Reading a chapter went by very quickly, and it felt as if the topic at hand was only skimmed. There was so much more that could have been investigated in each topic area. Much more detail could have been provided. Just as one example, illustrative situations could have been provided both from cultures currently in action and from historical situations.

Maybe this is meant for a quick-read course that only lasts four weeks? Maybe it's meant as just one of many books to help broach the subject, and the student reads this first in a few weeks then goes on to more specialized books to get the real impact? I'm just not sure. I do know that compared with the other books I was reading at the same time for my other classes that this one felt quite light.

Certainly it is not that I felt that the information contained in here was *inaccurate* or unhelpful in any way. The author does provide valid information. However, sometimes it borders on silly, with how basic it is. Did you know that people who have prejudicial feelings can either act on them or not act on them? Or that some people feel prejudice in certain situations, while others may not feel prejudice in those same situations?

I did also note with interest that while most college textbooks present the material and allow the student to draw his or her own conclusions, this book was fairly heavy handed at times in pushing the student to feel and react in a certain manner. I'm not sure that I feel that is appropriate for a textbook to do.

I'll give the book four stars for being a good start, but it definitely loses a star for not being thorough enough in covering the material at hand. This is a critical topic to cover very well, and I get a sense that students who only read this will be missing out on a lot. Especially given what my other two classes covered, when they weren't even focused wholly on this topic.