Does the concept of ethnicity divide the oppressed or unite minorities? Is the term `community' a dangerous fiction? What are the relations between the liberal capitalist democratic state and racialized minority groups? The contributors to this book confront and discuss these questions, bringing together ideas on urban social theory, contemporary cultural change and analysis of racial surbordination in order to explore the relationship between racism, the city and the state. The book concentrates on the urban context of the process of racialization, demonstrating that the city provides the institutional framework for racial segregation, a key process whereby racialization has been reproduced and sustained. Individual chapters explore the profound divisions inscribed on the face of the city, showing for example that ethnicity is more powerful than social class in moulding the identities of new migrants to California, and that the reconstruction of French capitalism has opened new opportunities for the growth of right-wing popularism. The contributors show how, in the UK, urban space over the last two decades has been redefined and reconstructed in ways which sustain separation and racial inequality, and they highlight how black minorities struggling for survival in Britain's cities are seen as responsible for violence, crime, poverty and overcrowding. Racism And The Postmodern City / Michael Keith And Malcolm Cross -- Postmodernism And Utopia, An Unholy Alliance / Leonard Harris -- 'polluting The Body Politic' : Racist Discourse And Urban Location / David Theo Goldberg --the Postmodern City And The Social Construction Of Ethnicity In California / Michael Peter Smith And Bernadette Tarallo -- Migration And The Racialization Of The Postmodern City In France / Sophie Body-gendrot -- From Equal Opportunity To 'the New Social Contract' : Race And The Politics Of The American 'underclass' / Margaret Weir. (cont.) Difference And Inequality : Postmodern Racial Politics In The United States / Howard Winant -- Residental [sic] Segregation And The Politics Of Racialization / Susan J. Smith -- The Local Politics Of Racial Equality : Policy Innovation And The Limits Of Reform / John Solomos -- Is Race Really The Sign Of The Times Or Is Postmodernism Only Skin Deep? : Black Sections And The Problem Of Authority / Syd Jeffers -- Aspects Of Nationalism And Black Identities In Post-imperial Britain / Harry Goulbourne -- From Punishment To Discipline? Racism, Racialization And The Policing Of Social Control / Michael Keith. Edited By Malcolm Cross And Michael Keith. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 210-225) And Indexes. The contributors to this volume address urban social theory, contemporary cultural change and analysis of racial subordination in order to explore and confront the relationship between racism, the city and the state.
