Farrell Bloch

For decades I have consulted on, or been retained as an expert witness in the litigation of, employment and lending discrimination issues. I’ve also taught courses and conducted research on the economics of discrimination. My work—and that of others—commonly presumed discrimination as a possibility and attempted to measure and explain its extent. Rarely addressed was the intriguing question why people favor, disfavor, or feel neutral about individuals of their own and other ethnicities and why these opinions change over time.

So I sought out other disciplines. Psychologists examined differential perceptions of individuals in one’s own social group versus those in outgroups and personality characteristics associated with bigotry. Historians’ intensive investigations were necessarily limited in time and place. Generally not covered with academic rigor were such timely subjects as identity politics, intersectionality, political correctness, and white privilege.

I wrote Identity and Prejudice to analyze these and related topics from first principles and to suggest novel interpretations of past and current events. I hope others will consider the hypotheses for future research summarized in my last chapter and otherwise extend my theoretical explorations.