Race, Class, and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study

by Paula S. Rothenberg

Race, Class, and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study presents students with a compelling, clear study of issues of race, gender, and sexuality within the context of class. Rothenberg offers students 126 readings, each providing different perspectives and examining the ways in which race, gender, class, and sexuality are socially constructed. Rothenberg deftly and consistently helps students analyze each phenomena, as well as the relationships among them, thereby deepening their understanding of each issue surrounding race and ethnicity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology, School, Gender Studies, College, Race, History

650 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay as a source reader - though some subjects are covered too briefly. I just don't think it would make a good composition reader, which was why it was sent to me.

[Lacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone willing to tackle a 700 page textbook, I highly recommend this book.
It is a compilation of essays, articles, interviews, and history lessons divided according to theme. I definitely feel like I learned a lot and I appreciated the brevity of the chapters.
This isn't light reading (duh) but it isn't all completely heavy material.
Recommend.

[Lindsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe this would have been great for an Intro to Women's Studies class. In fact, I'm sure it would have been great for that. But not for me. Not right now. It was just a super simplistic review of everything I've ever read before in life.

[Olga Kazakova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! Profound! In a way a life changing book! I will not deny that reading made me depressed at times. But it is a nessesaary struggle one needs to go through to understand social realities we all live in.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of articles. It can be a bit tedious at times, but some of the articles are really interesting.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This compilation blew my world apart in 1995. I still use it as a reference on the history of the -isms in the US.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did I read every article in this anthology? No.
Did I read enough and spend enough time with it to mark it as read regardless? Heck yes.

[Thomas Voiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got an A, in my Research class which used this textbook. This text is the first I’ve read of its kind. The authors compiled a lot of great research, and gave coverage to some important under appreciated research topics. I feel amazed that this book can still be distributed in Colleges, because it has been there will be more like it to come, I feel that this book in particular will help us fight the fires of prejudice threatening to leave us all bereft. A tough job, one I know there are many attending to in this confusing and great time we are now surviving.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book full of intriguing, eye-opening short stories. Intelligence meets sadness, the white man has put us all on some overly detrimental paths. Stretches your open-mindness and critical thinking as you hear from some brave people, heart-wrenching stories and get to apply that to your life in however you desire. I’ve never been more challenged in my thinking from another book thus far. I read this for my degree and thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Laura Isabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only textbook I’ve ever read from cover to cover.

[Marlena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for SocW 411 at UIC.

[Remy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would perhaps have given this more stars, under different circumstances. That might seem unfair, but the circumstances in which I read this are probably the same for most readers. As it was for a lot of people, this was a required text in my sociology class. The problem is that it was the only text for the class. As a supplement, sure, it would have been useful, but it's woefully inadequate as a textbook. My complaints are as follows:

I had the 2014 edition (somehow, even though it was only mid 2013) and yet the collected entries were usually published significantly before that. In some articles that makes sense; if you want a first person account of the effects of Jim Crow laws, or Indian boarding schools, by all means find the oldest source you can. However, if your trying to illuminate the injustices of the world today, the best articles for the job certainly did not come out in the 80's. I'm not saying the world isn't equally or even more unjust since then, only that one would have very little clue whether it was by reading this book. Even then, although I can imagine the editor picking older entries specifically because they still apply, I can't help but think that it's more about nostalgia or laziness.

Further, there is an issue with the quantitative aspects of the book. The more qualitative or first-hand, 'how-it-makes-you-feel,' entries are fine. If one hasn't been on the receiving end of racism, or homophobia, etc, then these articles really do help bridge that gap a little. But there are too many of them. If you break it down, the book is three things: personal accounts, meta analyses with circular, jargon-filled explanations that make arbitrary distinctions, and attempts at actual quantitative analysis. This last category is sadly underrepresented, and the few articles that do rely heavily on numbers often contradict each other. Is that a consequence of when the research was done? Different methodologies? Misuse of data? Who knows; the readers will just have to look that up on their own, or more likely, not even notice.

Notice that neither of these complaints would really matter if this was supplementary material. The main textbook would then ideally cover terminology, handling data, following up on sources, identifying bias in the media, etc. In other words, things the reader could apply when perusing these articles.

[P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a friend's rehashing of an article aimed to debunk the "myth" of the gender wage gap got my dander up, I realized I didn't have a good foundation from which to argue. So I got a lot of books out at the library. I didn't expect to read all 757 pages of this one, but that's what happened. The articles were well-selected and interesting (except, I confess, in the economics chapter. I have an allergy to percentages). I didn't agree with all of everything (I rarely do) but overall most of the views seemed moderate to me--although to a far-right person they may seem radical. I feel as though there should be a required class on these issues for everyone who enters college. Or senior year of high school. But, my brain being what it is, I still can't train myself to spout verbatim the data from the essays relevant to why I started reading in the first place. Maybe I wasn't cut out to be a debater. But I know where to point someone the next time the subject comes up.

[Sara Larson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am such a fan of compilation essay books!

Let's be honest, being white and middle-class doesn't necessarily introduce you to the world of racial and class discrepencies, so it was nice to hear first-person analyses of these discordances in the United States.

It took me a while to finish this book... mostly because it's easy to put down after you have finished an essay. Most of the essays are relatively short and to the point, which is why I gave the book five stars.

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will really open your eyes to inequality in the world. At times it can be shocking to realize how privileged you may be. Warning: reading passages aloud from this book may cause you to fight with your white, male, middle-class, young boyfriend because he can't admit how privileged he is.

[Tom Darrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of essays on the topics of race, gender and class. They can be a bit Male WASP bashing, at times, but that's kind of the point. There's a little bit of everything in there, which is why so many teachers and professors use this book to stimulate debate and discussion.

[Jamie]

Bought this book for a class I need to renew my teaching license, but seeing as I don't have a teaching job and haven't been able to get one in the 4 years of looking, I decided to save my money until (if & when) teaching jobs are easier to secure again. But I still have my copy just in case.

[Ayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

a little academic but still very useful; many subtopics.

[Judi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yep, another text book. But it's a good one!

[M]

You will learn a lot.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reading this book for the Social Work Graduate class I am currently teaching at West Chester University. So it will be on here all semester! =]

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun to read and insightful. Offers a variety of perspectives in short, readable chunks.

[Talbot Hook · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some really excellent essays in this book. These topics are fascinating, and the book is formatted in a logical and sensible manner. Excellent for a class. I was truly impressed.

[Phạm N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories in here are a great way to teach politics narratively.

[Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good selection of works to get a perspective on what goes on every day in this country and what problems we might try to address.

[Yasmin Birdie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it for my women studies class.

[PB · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was my introduction to race, class and gender relations not only in the US, but as also broader concepts for a class. Great textbook and anthology of Essays

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's some good content, but I'm very disappointed in the discussion of trans individuals. The terminology is wrong and even harmful in some places.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should also be required reading for all Americans.