The Matrix of Race: Social Construction, Intersectionality, and Inequality

The authors are proud sponsors of the 2020 SAGE Keith Roberts Teaching Innovations Award ―enabling graduate students and early career faculty to attend the annual ASA pre-conference teaching and learning workshop.

The Matrix of Race: Social Construction, Intersectionality, and Inequality is a textbook that makes race and racial inequality "visible" in new ways to all students in race/ethnic relations courses, regardless of their backgrounds–from minorities who have experienced the impact of race in their own lives to members of dominant groups who might believe that we now live in a "color blind<" society. The "matrix" refers to a way of thinking about race that reflects the intersecting, multilayered identities of contemporary society, and the powerful social institutions that shape our understanding of race. Its goals are to help readers get beyond familiar "us vs. them" arguments that can lead to resistance and hostility; promote self-appraisal; and stimulate more productive discussions about race and racism.

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Rodney D. Coates is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Gerontology at Miami University (Ohio) and Director of the university’s Black World Studies program. He specializes in the study of race and ethnic relations, inequality, critical race theory, and social justice. He has served on the editorial boards of the American Sociological Review; Social Forces; and Race, Class and Gender; on the executive boards of the Southern Sociological Society and Sociologists without Borders; and as Chair of the American Sociological Association’s section on Race and Ethnic Minorities. Rodney has published dozens of articles and several edited books, and frequently writes on issues of race and ethnicity, education and public policy, civil rights and social justice. His 2004 edited book, Race and Ethnicity: Across Time, Space and Discipline won the Choice award from the American Library Association. He is also a recipient of the Joseph Himes Career Award in Scholarship and Activism from the Association of Black Sociologists.

Abby L. Ferber is Professor of Sociology and Director of Women′s Studies at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, where she teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses on race, gender, and social theory. She is the author of White Man Falling: Race, Gender and White Supremacy (Rowman & Littlefield), and co-author of the American Sociological Associations′ Hate Crime in America: What Do We Know?. She is also the co-author of, Making a Difference: University Students of Color Speak Out, (Rowman & Littlefield), and a co-editor of Privilege: A Reader, (Westview Press) with Michael Kimmel. Abby is the former Director of the university’s Matrix Center for the Advancement of Social Equity and Inclusion, and co-organizer of two annual programs run by the Center―the White Privilege Conference and the Knapsack Institute.

David L. Brunsma is Professor of Sociology at Virginia Tech where he teaches and researches in the areas of race, racism, multiracial identity, and human rights. He is the author of Beyond Black: Biracial Identity in America (Roman & Littlefield), A Symbolic Crusade: The School Uniform Movement and What it Tells Us About American Education (Rowman & Littlefield Education) and The Handbook of Sociology and Human Rights (Routledge). His work has appeared in American Teacher Magazine, Principal Magazine, and The Audio Journal of Education. David is the founding co-editor of the journal Sociology of Race and Ethnicity and Executive Officer of the Southern Sociological Society. He is also a recipient of the W.E.B. Du Bois Award from Sociologists Without Borders.