Contemporary Voices of White Nationalism in America - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521016932 ISBN 13: 9780521016933

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2003

Synopsis

This book presents ten alarmingly candid interviews by some of the most prominent members of what co-editors Carol M. Swain and Russ Nieli warn is a growing White Nationalist movement. The ten people interviewed in this volume make statements that are sure to shock, amuse, challenge, and provoke readers. Their remarks are of particular interest, Swain and Nieli believe, for understanding how the many race-conscious whites who lie outside the integrationist consensus on racial issues in America view developments that have taken place in the United States since the Civil Rights movement. If current trends continue, the authors predict, these ideas will become more common, especially as whites become a diminishing portion of the U.S. population. They argue that the claims of white nationalists need to be aired in open, public forums, where they can be vigorously challenged and subjected to refutation. Carol M. Swain is Professor of Political Science and Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University. She is the author of Black Faces, Black Interests (Harvard, 1993). She has published numerous articles including the op-eds in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the Chronicle of Higher Education and lectures widely across the country, on issues ranging from congressional redistricting to the future of affirmative action programs. Swain was one of twelve children born into rural poverty, is a high school dropout, and a first generation college student who started her education at a community college and went on to receive a doctorate and law degree. She spent the first ten years of her career teaching at Princeton University, where she was a tenured professor of political science and public policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. A former Fulbright Scholar, Russ Nieli is currently a lecturer in politics at Princeton University. His areas of academic interest run the gammet from Wittgenstein to race relations, and he is currently working on a book on the decline of the inner-city African American communities in the decades following the Civil Rights Revolution of the 1960's.

About this title

Book Description:

This book is a captivating collection of ten lively interviews with several of the leading figures in what the editors describe as a new white nationalist movement in America. From those who decry preference for racial minorities to neo-Nazi advocates of white supremacy, these ten candidly present viewpoints rarely encountered in mainstream discourse. The editors fear, however, that such ideas will become more common among white Americans. To counter such an alarming prospect, they maintain that the claims and arguments of white nationalists must be better understood in order to be more effectively challenged.

Review:

"There's something there to offend everybody. But I think a lot of it rings true. She so clearly is not saying the academically correct things on every issue. Carol avoids academic correctness at every turn, and that lends some authority to what she says." Kent Syverud, Dean, Vanderbilt University Law School, as quoted by the Tennessean

"This book deserves to be taken very seriously even by those, like myself, who disagree strongly with some of its premises." George M. Fredrickson, Stanford University

"...a courageous book. It is certain to generate controversy. Scholars and concerned citizens may not fully agree with Carol Swain's thought provoking thesis on the rise of white nationalism and its implications for the future of American race relations. However, the force and intensity of her arguments will compel them to take the book seriously." William Julius Wilson, Harvard University

"...provacative and well researched..." Magill's Literary Annual

"It is the great virtue of Carol Swain's work that she is willing to conduct honest inquiry into racial questions and bluntly tell the truth as she finds it. Drawing on the tools of social science as well as her own extraordinary personal experience, she shines a powerful light on issues ranging from crime and illegitimacy to affirmative action and the role of religion in promoting racial harmony. People across the ideological spectrum have a great deal to learn from this thoughtful and courageous scholar." Robert P. George; Princeton University

"This is a disturbing book. Carol Swain bravely describes a world of white nationalists who reject racial integration. But where the establishment ignores these groups, Swain argues that the best response is debate rather than denial. The nationalists draw support because they express widespread white grievances that our leaders refuse to face -especially runaway immigration and affirmative action. Like Jefferson, Swain hears a firebell in the night." Lawrence M. Mead; New York University

"She brings a fresh and vital perspective to any discussion of race relations." The New Leader

"...very strongly recommended for Political Science and Social Issues reference collections and supplemental reading lists." Wisconsin Bookwatch

"...extremely provocative book--marks the arrival of a bold new voice in the American race relations debate." First Things

"[Swain's] willingness to challenge received opinion and defy the expected categories of our stale identity politics is sorely needed if America is ever to have an open and honest debate about race. Swain's book is an important contribution to such a debate and will be of interest to all those, whatever their policy preferences and whatever their race, who wish to see it take place." The Review of Politics

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0521016932
• ISBN 13: 9780521016933
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 316
• Editor: Swain Carol M., Nieli Russ