Race and Racism in the West: Crusades to the Present

"Race and Racism in the West: Crusades to the Present is an anthology for use in courses on multiculturalism and ethnicity. The book addresses some of the western hemisphere’s historical attitudes about racial identity. These include the concept of white privilege, the presence of paternalism, and the desirability of a color-blind society. A discussion of the psychology of the colonizer and the colonized demonstrates how historic processes cast long shadows over many societies, and that today's issues are often rooted in the past.

The reader is divided into sections that cover the historic roots of racism and colonialism as seen in the Crusades, medieval anti-Semitism, the destruction of the Indies and Colonial Mexico, scientific racism and Nazi Germany, and nationalism, colonialism and post-colonialism. There are also sections on color-blindness and white privilege, and Afro-Latin America.

The diverse reading selections range from an excerpt from Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf, to Eduardo Bonilla-Silva's 2010 work Racism without Racists and from Thomas Asbridge's analysis of the crusades to a discussion of Sigmund Freud's imaginary trip to South Park.

Race and Racism in the West provides students with a thought-provoking examination of an issue that is both rooted deep within the past and completely contemporary.

Paul Sweeney received his B.S. in history at Eastern Michigan University. He received his M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies at California State University, San Bernardino, where he currently teaches courses on Race and Racism. Professor Sweeney is also a lecturer in Latin American Studies at the University of Redlands. His interest in and appreciation for ethnic diversity stems from fieldwork in Cuba. He is working on a number of scholastic articles and planning his Ph.D. Studies."