Vincent N. Parrillo - Böcker

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.

Fully updated and expanded, the fifth edition of Diversity in America offers a comparative, sociohistorical analysis of diversity in the United States. Drawing from the latest data and research and incorporating recent developments such as the Black Lives Matter movement, Parrillo gives a detailed and multifaceted portrait of intergroup relations. Parrillo takes a chronological approach and uses intergenerational comparisons to highlight demographic shifts and changing perceptions of diversity within different periods of American history. The tensions between the processes of assimilation and pluralism are explored throughout with reference to debates surrounding immigration, the perceived threat of multiculturalism, and the fear of society losing its “American” identity. The original concept of the ‘Dillingham Flaw’ is deployed to explain false perceptions of immigrants. Further updates to the fifth edition include analytical commentary on the controversies surrounding Critical Race Theory and Great Replacement Theory; Affirmative Action, the rise of White supremacist groups; the political divide over asylum seekers, refugees, and undocumented immigrants; and changing racial and religious demographics in an evolving multi-racial America. The book thus sheds light on the socially constructed myths about America’s past, misunderstandings about its present, and anxieties about its future. This accessible and engagingly written book will be of interest to students, academics, and general readers with an interest in diversity, race, ethnicity and migration in the United States.

Fully updated and expanded, the fifth edition of Diversity in America offers a comparative, sociohistorical analysis of diversity in the United States. Drawing from the latest data and research and incorporating recent developments such as the Black Lives Matter movement, Parrillo gives a detailed and multifaceted portrait of intergroup relations. Parrillo takes a chronological approach and uses intergenerational comparisons to highlight demographic shifts and changing perceptions of diversity within different periods of American history. The tensions between the processes of assimilation and pluralism are explored throughout with reference to debates surrounding immigration, the perceived threat of multiculturalism, and the fear of society losing its “American” identity. The original concept of the ‘Dillingham Flaw’ is deployed to explain false perceptions of immigrants. Further updates to the fifth edition include analytical commentary on the controversies surrounding Critical Race Theory and Great Replacement Theory; Affirmative Action, the rise of White supremacist groups; the political divide over asylum seekers, refugees, and undocumented immigrants; and changing racial and religious demographics in an evolving multi-racial America. The book thus sheds light on the socially constructed myths about America’s past, misunderstandings about its present, and anxieties about its future. This accessible and engagingly written book will be of interest to students, academics, and general readers with an interest in diversity, race, ethnicity and migration in the United States.

Social problems affect everyone. Because so many actual and potential problems confront us, it is often difficult to decide which ones affect us most severely. Is it the threat of death or injury during a terrorist attack? Is it the threat caused by industrial pollution that may poison us or destroy our physical environment? Or does quiet but viciously damaging gender, age, class, racial, or ethnic discrimination have the most far-reaching effect? Do the problems of cities affect us if we live in the suburbs? Do poorer nations′ problems with overpopulation affect our quality of life? The Encyclopedia of Social Problems offers an interdisciplinary perspective into many social issues that are a continuing concern in our lives, whether we confront them on a personal, local, regional, national, or global level. With more than 600 entries, these two volumes cover all of the major theories, approaches, and contemporary issues in social problems and also provide insight into how social conditions get defined as social problems, and the ways different people and organizations view and try to solve them.Key Features· Provides as comprehensive an approach as possible to this multifaceted field by using experts and scholars from 19 disciplines: anthropology, biology, business, chemistry, communications, criminal justice, demography, economics, education, environmental studies, geography, health, history, languages, political science, psychology, social work, sociology, and women′s studies· Presents a truly international effort with contributors from 17 countries: Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, New Zealand, Romania, Scotland, Turkey, and the United States· Addresses social problems that are fairly new, such as computer crimes and identity theft, and others that are centuries old, such as poverty and prostitution· Examines social problems differently from place to place and from one era to another· Explains the perspectives and foundations of various social theories and offers different lenses to view the same realityKey Themes· Aging and the Life Course· Community, Culture, and Change · Crime and Deviance · Economics and Work · Education· Family · Gender Inequality and Sexual Orientation · Health · Housing and Urbanization · Politics, Power, and War · Population and Environment · Poverty and Social Class · Race and Ethnic Relations · Social Movements · Social Theory · Substance Abuse Readers investigating virtually any social problem will find a rich treasure of information and insights in this reference work, making it a must-have resource for any academic library.

The updated and expanded fourth edition of Diversity in America addresses key controversial topics generating debate in US society today. The book answers these and many other questions by using history and sociology to shed light on socially constructed myths. Vincent N. Parrillo takes the reader through different American eras, beginning with the indigenous populations and continuing through colonial times, the industrial age, the information age and today. The book uses intergenerational comparisons and extrapolation of present trends into future probabilities to offer the reader a holistic analytic commentary to provide additional helpful insights and understanding.

The updated and expanded fourth edition of Diversity in America addresses key controversial topics generating debate in US society today. The book answers these and many other questions by using history and sociology to shed light on socially constructed myths. Vincent N. Parrillo takes the reader through different American eras, beginning with the indigenous populations and continuing through colonial times, the industrial age, the information age and today. The book uses intergenerational comparisons and extrapolation of present trends into future probabilities to offer the reader a holistic analytic commentary to provide additional helpful insights and understanding.