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The Comparative Imagination: On the History of Racism, Nationalism, and Social Movements
The Comparative Imagination On the History of Racism Nationalism and Social Movements Author:George M. Fredrickson In this collection of essays, eminent American historian of race relations George M. Fredrickson discusses issues central to our understanding of the history of racism, the role of racism, and the possibilities for justice in contemporary society. In so doing, he illuminates the emerging field of comparative history -- history that is expl... more »icitly cross-cultural in its comparisons of nations, eras, or social structures. Taken together, these thought-provoking, accessible essays bring new precision and depth to our understanding of racism and justice, both historically and for society today.
The first group of essays summarize and evaluate the cross-national comparative history written in the past fifty years. These essays pay particular attention to comparative work on slavery and race relations, frontiers, nation-building and the growth of modern welfare states, and class and gender relations. The second group of essays represent some of the author's own explorations into the cross-cultural study of race and racism. Included are new essays covering such topics as the problem of race in classic liberal thought, and the complex relationship between racism and state-based nationalism. The third group of essays contains the author's recent work on antiracist and black liberation movements in the United States and South Africa, especially in the period since World War II. Fredrickson's provocative introduction outlines a justification for the methods of comparative history in light of such contemporary trends as the revival of narrative history and the predominance of postmodern thought.
This timely work provides a critical framework for viewing central figures and ideas in the struggle for freedom from racial oppression. Offering clear, bold, and moral arguments in the analysis of nations, social structures, and the methods of antiracist struggle in modern society, The Comparative Imagination makes a substantial contribution to the development of the field of comparative history.« less