Overview

This original and provocative text provides an approach to understanding the emergence and development of social rank through race and caste. The struggles we face in race and ethnic relations today are explored through anthropological, historical and sociological lenses to understand the roots of social hierarchy drawing on examples from the Indian subcontinent, the Caribbean, and mainland America.

Full Product Details

Author:   Chris Smaje (University of Surrey)
Publisher:   John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Imprint:   Wiley-Blackwell
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.445kg
ISBN:  

9780631209492

ISBN 10:   0631209492
Pages:   302
Publication Date:   14 May 2000
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
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Table of Contents

List of Figures. Preface. Part I: Race, Caste, and Hierarchy. 1. Race and Caste as Natural Hierarchies. 2. Race. 3. Caste. 4. Hierarchy. 5. History and Ambivalence: a Place in the Sociological Debate. Part II: Theoretical Constructions. 6. Introduction. 7. Essentialism and Anti-essentialism. 8. Structure. 9. Culture, Practice, and Symbol. 10. History. 11. Conclusion. Part III: Economic and Political Formations. 12. Introduction. 13. European capitalism, Indian Capitalism?. 14. Political formations. 15. Europe. 16. India. 17. Nations and Citizenries. Part IV: Race, Slavery, and Colonialism. . 18. Introduction. 19. Slavery. 20. Race and colonial society. 21. Race and Political Thought in Early Modern Europe. Part V: Race, Caste and the Person. . 22. Introduction. 23. Race, Caste and Kinship. 24. Caste, kinship, and Gender in India. 25. Race, Kinship, and Gender in the Caribbean. Part VI: Race, Caste and the Nation. . 26. Introduction. 27. Race and the Creolization in the Caribbean. 28. Euro-creole. 29. Afro-creole. 30. Caudillismo. 31. Caste, communalism, and the Nation in Contemporary India. Part VII: Hierarchy and Politics. . 32. Hierarchy and a Sociology of Politics. 33. Hierarchy and a Politics of Sociology. References. Index.

Reviews

"Natural Hierarchies is an insightful study of the complex ways in which race and social relations are grounded in specific historical and cultural contexts. Through its rare combination of clearly argued theoretical analyses and empirical research it forces all of us working on these questions to rethink our research agendas and key concepts." John Solomos, South Bank University "This wide-ranging book considers political ideologies, European colonialism, and classical and contemporary social theory, especially that of Marx and Levi-Strauss." S. D. Borchert, Lake Erie College. "an interesting work." Contemporary Sociology "Smaje's book is a major contribution to the area. It is ambitious, erudite, and insightful." Ethnic and Racial Studies

Author Information

Chris Smaje is a Lecturer of Sociology at the University of Surrey. He holds degrees in anthropology, health policy, and sociology, and his research interests span the fields of medical sociology and the comparative historical sociology of race and colonialism. He is a member of the editorial boards of the journals Ethnic and Racial Studies and Sociology of Health and Illness.

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