Full Description
The Changing Faces of Race and Gender in the United States takes a close look at how the socio-political context of the late 20th century has affected the fabric of American life for adolescents and how youth, living in a diverse American society, negotiate a sense of self in the context of race, ethnicity, and gender. * Discusses the central issues of successful adolescent development in light of the current social, cultural, and political climate using the racial and ethnic identity stories of different adolescents in the 1990s and early 21st century as case studies * Focuses on the diversity and complexity of our society, including the variety of value systems available to youth and the variety of groups in which they participate * Approaches identity as both a motivational force and a reservoir of resources that enables youth to establish their sense of self as they progress through their lives * Establishes theoretical paradigms and their implications for youth development in contemporary and future conditions, and implications for U.S. policy and practice regarding race, ethnicity, and gender
Contents
Overview of book chapters * Introduction .Section 1 - Framing the research.Section 1 sets the stage for our readers, providing them with both the theoretical starting points for this book and detailed information about the environments in which the youths' experiences were taking place. * Chapter 1 - Theoretical framework .In the second chapter, we describe our usage of the terms "race" and "ethnicity", and lay out the theoretical frameworks have been used in studying identity and youth development. * Chapter 2 -- Setting and sample .In chapter 2, we put the research in perspective by describing our participants and the setting in which they were living at the time.Section 2 - The many faces of race, ethnicity, and gender .The second section of the book is largely descriptive. Each of the three chapters in this section provides profiles of racial, ethnic, and gender identity.Chapter 3 - Identity Content.Chapter 3 provides descriptive data on the different forms that racial, ethnic, and gender identities take, and the specific types of content on which they are based. * Chapter 4 - Stability and change in identity across time and context .We move beyond identity as an entity residing within people's psyches. Rather, we see identity as a process of negotiating self across time and context. * Chapter 5 - Identity as meaning making .Having described the forms racial and ethnic identities can take, we move on in chapter 5 to describe the complex ways in which identity content is negotiated. * Chapter 6 - Reconciling personal and social identities .Throughout this book, we maintain that racial, ethnic, and gender identities are not separate entities residing within persons. In chapter 6 we explore in depth the ways in which race, ethnicity, and gender are related to personal identity, that set of characteristics that makes individuals unique compared to others.Section 3 - Race and ethnicity as risk, protective, and promotive factors in development.Having shown the ways in which youth construct meaning around race and ethnicity and incorporate these meanings in their sense of self, in section 3 we present findings from our research showing that race and ethnicity can present both challenges and resources in the youth's development. * Chapter 7 - Alienation and marginalization at school: discrimination, oppositional identity, and achievement. * Chapter 8 - Physical and mental health outcomes: perceived discrimination, racial/ethnic identity as a buffer. * Chapter 9 - Race and ethnicity as promotive factors in development: family racial/ethnic socialization, collective identities, and institutional, community, and civic engagement. .Chapter 12 - ConclusionThe final chapter of this book summarizes our conclusions and makes some broad recommendations for educational policy, in particular. We suggest that families, schools, and communities play a highly significant role in youths' formation of racial and ethnic identities, and that open dialogue about race and ethnicity should be encouraged in all settings. Open dialogue increases and broadens the discourses available to youth as they negotiate the meaning of race and ethnicity for their self-concepts and their prospects in the world.
