I’m working on a book about race and ethnicity right now. Mind you, the publishing house hasn’t accepted my proposal yet, but waiting for them to say ok means that I can’t write impressive sentences like “I’m working on a book right now.” So I’m just going to act like it’s a done deal.
In any case, I realize that to discuss race and ethnicity, I better have a clear definition of what I’m talking about. I’m concerned that this isn’t happening anytime soon.
May 12th, 2010 on 6:16 pm
I hope your book proposal is accepted. Much has been written on the race vs. ethnicity question, but there is still a lot that is unclear to a lot of people. Even my own mother, a “Hispanic” herself, was unclear as to why I wouldn’t identify as Caucasian on the census form. “Mija, Hispanic isn’t a race…Caucasian is”. Whatever THAT means!
I always wondered how these questions are viewed in Brazil, possibly the most diverse country in the world, where racial classification is forbidden.