Unmeltable Ethnics: Politics and Culture in American Life [Paperback]

Michael Novak (Author, Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995

"There is no such thing as one homo Americanus. There is no single culture here." So begins this extraordinary volume on ethnicity in America by Michael Novak. The point of this book, which was originally published as The Rise of the Unmeltable Ethnics, is to raise consciousness about a crucial part of the American experience. Its aim is to involve each reader in self-inquiry. Who, after all, are you? What history brought you to where you are? Why are you different from others? And have you noticed the ways in which you are distinct? The new text now contains a fourth part, "Ethnicity in the Seventies and Beyond," comprising six new chapters: "The New Ethnicity"; "Pluralism: A Humanistic Perspective"; "Ethnicity and Cultural Diversity"; "How American are You if Your Grandparents Came from Slovakia in 1888?"; "One Species, Many Cultures"; and "The Social World of Individuals." The author has also written a comprehensive new introduction, discussing the changes that have occurred since the book was first written, detailing how ethnicity has become a prominent issue in politics, and adamantly denouncing the current trend known as "multiculturalism," which, Novak notes, has been improperly associated with ethnicity. When the book first appeared, Time said that "Novak has attacked the American Dream in order to open up a possible second chapter for it." Newsweek called it "a tough minded provocative book which could well signal an important change in American politics." Unmeltable Ethnics is of significant interest to sociologists, political theorists, and scholars and students interested in ethnicity, and how it has become part of the mid-1990s debate on American society and its future.

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About the Author

Michael Novak is George Frederick Jewett Scholar in Religion, Philosophy, and Public Policy at American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. He has twice been ambassador to the UN Human Rights Commission and is member of the National Endowment for Democracy Board. He is the author of over two dozen books and numerous scholarly articles, which have appeared in First Things, The Weekly Standard, and National Review Online.

Product Details

• Paperback: 486 pages
• Publisher: Transaction Publishers; 2 edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560007737
• ISBN-13: 978-1560007739
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,770,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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