X-NUPop-Charset: English Date: Fri, 8 Nov 1996 13:17:02 -0600 (CST) From: "Alan Spector" Sender: spector@calumet.purdue.edu Reply-To: spector@calumet.purdue.edu To: revs@csf.colorado.edu Subject: Call for Papers A new edited volume on race, class and gender is being put together as part of a world-wide collaborative effort. The book is intended to have an international audience and be strongly comparative. The main thrust of the book will be as follows: Race, class and gender, socially constructed means of social control, serves to perpetuate economic, cultural, political, psychological, religious, ideological and legal systems of inequality. The simultaneity of these social constructs produce identity matrices. If you could imagine a series of concentric circles, each labeled according to the above list (add more if you can think of them), which serve to define, structure and limit the experiences of dominated group members - then the conceptualization of the dynamic produced by the interaction of race, class and gender can be realized. As concentric circles, these constraints appear to be much like a fly caught in a spiders-web. To the casual observer, each fiber does not appear to be sufficient in and of itself to ensnarl the fly. But when viewed from either within or as a whole we see a finely constructed trap. The problem, from a pedagogical, policy, research, or activist perspective, is that we tend to concentrate on only one fibre-or phenomenon. Removal of which leads to great anticipation that the war has been won. Unfortunately, while even more insidious wires are being constructed, the others are left in tact. Race, class and gender produces a dynamic whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The deeper we go, the more we see. The dynamic produces systems of domination which are also multi-layered, multi-dimensional Janus headed beast which, although socially constructed, has a momentum of its own. The beast has a life of its own primarily because we (all of us) are indoctrinated from birth, emersed in this viscous interacting web of confusion. While this reality is the lived experiences of individuals in this and other cultures throughout the world, few social scientists and social science texts provide a clear understanding this dynamic. Social scientists use race, gender and class to refer to specific social groups that either defines itself or is defined by others. Race for example, is typically understood as a distinct group by virtue of so-called identifiable and immutable physical features. Associated with these racial designations, society or the group typically ascribes particular sets of cultural and psychological norms thought likewise to be immutable and easily identifiable among racial group members. Similarly, gender is also a social construct which is typically viewed as being ascribed according to societal expectations regarding sexual identification and socialization predicated upon biological designations. Gendersocialization and constructs produce unique forms of domination which we are only now beginning to understand. Alternatively, class, while the most studied social construct in sociology, has varied meanings and designations depending upon the ideological persuasion of the theorist/researcher. While there is a general agreement regarding the definition of class (i.e., ones relation to the productive system) little agreement exist regarding how many, what types and etc. class groups exists. Consequently, there yet remains a great deal of confusion, even among social scientists in particular regarding what these social constructs actually mean. Even more problematical is how race interacts with class and gender to create what I call identity matrices. There are literally dozens of text available which treat separately each of these social constructs, a small handful which treats them collectively, but none which looks at the dynamic interaction produced by their existence. While many text give the illusion of doing such, they tend to compartmentalize each social construct and thus provide no theoretical base which would allow the reader to understand the nature of what we call identity matrices. Although much of the scholarship available to the average student concentrates on the American experience exclusively. While good, the student is left with no way of understanding how these observations fit into the wider global situation. I suggest that if we take the American experience as a base, with suitable elaboration (see below for a sketch), and compare these racial identity matrices with those of other significant cultural/societal ones that a more complete understanding may be provided. Finally, all text dealing with gender tend to exclude males in their analysis. To begin this process let me suggest the following sketch. We are proposing to develop a reader that would provide an analytical overview of systems of domination produced by the interaction of race, class and gender in the United States and globally, in historical and current context. Our strategy will be to create a good, critical sociological analysis of the social construction of race, class and gender and strategies for social change. A central component of this analysis will be to delineate the position of women as well as men in a social structure which is organized along both racial and class lines. Thus readers should get a critical appreciation of race, class and gender as the central organizing principles of American and other western societies and how they interact to produce various systems of domination. We are are seeking contributions in the following areas as they relates to race, class and gender - media, theory, history, education, psychology, sociology, economics and politics. If any are interested in participating in this enterprise please send abstracts to me directly by e-mail. Thanks.. For full consideration Abstracts should be in by Dec. 15. By Jan 15 selectected scholars will be asked to prepare their papers. These will be due May 15, we plan to have the completed manuscript to the publisher by June 15, 1997. Rodney D. Coates, Ph.d. Rose Brewer Associate Professor of Sociology Afro-American & African Studies Director of Black World Studies 267 19th Ave., S. Miami University 808 Social Sciences Building Oxford, Ohio 45056 University of Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN 55455 e-mail coatesrd@casmail.muohio.edu umoja Only when lions have historians will hunters cease being heroes. African Proverb Without struggle there is no progress. Frederick Douglass The most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed. Steven Biko yours in the struggle Rodney D. Coates Director of Black World Studies Associate Professor of Sociology Miami University Oxford, Ohio 45056 513 529-1235 email: coatesrd@casmail.muohio.edu