IDS 350: Diversity in the United States

Across the West, something called multiculturalism is in crisis. Regarded as the failed experiment of liberal elites, commentators and politicians compete to denounce its corrosive legacies; parallel communities threatening social cohesion, enemies within cultivated by irresponsible cultural relativism, mediaeval practices subverting national 'ways of life' and universal values. This important new book challenges this familiar narrative of the rise and fall of multiculturalism by challenging the existence of a coherent era of 'multiculturalism' in the first place. The authors argue that what we are witnessing is not so much a rejection of multiculturalism as a projection of neoliberal anxieties onto the social realities of lived multiculture. Nested in an established post-racial consensus, new forms of racism draw powerfully on liberalism and questions of 'values', and unsettle received ideas about racism and the 'far right' in Europe. In combining theory with a reading of recent controversies concerning headscarves, cartoons, minarets and burkas, Lentin and Titley trace a transnational crisis that travels and is made to travel, and where rejecting multiculturalism is central to laundering increasingly acceptable forms of racism.

Nancy Leong reveals how powerful people and institutions use diversity to their own advantage and how the rest of us can respond--and do better. Why do people accused of racism defend themselves by pointing to their black friends? Why do men accused of sexism inevitably talk about how they love their wife and daughters? Why do colleges and corporations alike photoshop people of color into their websites and promotional materials? And why do companies selling everything from cereal to sneakers go out of their way to include a token woman or person of color in their advertisements? In this groundbreaking book, Nancy Leong coins the term "identity capitalist" to label the powerful insiders who eke out social and economic value from people of color, women, LGBTQ people, the poor, and other outgroups. Leong deftly uncovers the rules that govern a system in which all Americans must survive: the identity marketplace. She contends that the national preoccupation with diversity has, counterintuitively, allowed identity capitalists to infiltrate the legal system, educational institutions, the workplace, and the media. Using examples from law to literature, from politics to pop culture, Leong takes readers on a journey through the hidden agendas and surprising incentives of various ingroup actors. She also uncovers a dire dilemma for outgroup members: do they play along and let their identity be used by others, or do they protest and risk the wrath of the powerful? Arming readers with the tools to recognize and mitigate the harms of exploitation, Identity Capitalists reveals what happens when we prioritize diversity over equality.

The first edition of this book constituted a comprehensive resource for students of higher education, faculty, higher education administrators and student affairs leaders engaging with multiculturalism and diverse populations on college campuses. It was one of the first texts to gather in a single volume the related theories, assessment methods, and environmental and application issues pertinent to the study and practice of multiculturalism, while also offering approaches to enhancing multicultural programming and culturally diverse campus environments. This second edition retains the structure and vision of the first, introducing readers to the key theories and models for understanding the complexity of the students they serve, and for reflecting on their own values and motivations. It provides an array of case studies, discussion questions, examples of best practice, and recommendations about resources for use in the classroom. This edition includes a new chapter on intersectionality, updates several chapters, presents a number of new cultural frameworks and updated best practices for creating an inclusive environment for marginalized groups, and expands the third section of the book on cultural competent practice.