Ever since the Enlightenment, race theory and its inevitable partner, racism, have followed a crooked road, constructed by dominant peoples to justify their domination of others. Filling a huge gap in historical literature that long focused on the non-white, eminent historian Nell Irvin Painter guides us through more than two thousand years of Western civilization, tracing not only the invention of the idea of race but also the frequent worship of "whiteness" for economic, social, scientific, and political ends. Our ...
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Ever since the Enlightenment, race theory and its inevitable partner, racism, have followed a crooked road, constructed by dominant peoples to justify their domination of others. Filling a huge gap in historical literature that long focused on the non-white, eminent historian Nell Irvin Painter guides us through more than two thousand years of Western civilization, tracing not only the invention of the idea of race but also the frequent worship of "whiteness" for economic, social, scientific, and political ends. Our story begins in Greek and Roman antiquity, where the concept of race did not exist, only geography and the opportunity to conquer and enslave others. Not until the eighteenth century did an obsession with whiteness flourish, with the German invention of the notion of Caucasian beauty. This theory made northern Europeans into "Saxons," "Anglo-Saxons," and "Teutons," envisioned as uniquely handsome natural rulers. Here was a worldview congenial to northern Europeans bent on empire. There followed an explosion of theories of race, now focusing on racial temperament as well as skin color. Spread by such intellectuals as Madame de Stael and Thomas Carlyle, white race theory soon reached North America with a vengeance. Its chief spokesman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, did the most to label Anglo-Saxons-icons of beauty and virtue-as the only true Americans. It was an ideal that excluded not only blacks but also all ethnic groups not of Protestant, northern European background. The Irish and Native Americans were out and, later, so were the Chinese, Jews, Italians, Slavs, and Greeks-all deemed racially alien. Did immigrations threaten the very existence of America? Americans were assumed to be white, but who among poor immigrants could become truly American? A tortured and convoluted series of scientific explorations developed-theories intended to keep Anglo-Saxons at the top: the ever-popular measurement of skulls, the powerful eugenics movement, and highly biased intelligence tests-all designed to keep working people out and down. As Painter reveals, power-supported by economics, science, and politics-continued to drive exclusionary notions of whiteness until, deep into the twentieth century, political realities enlarged the category of truly American. A story filled with towering historical figures, The History of White People forcefully reminds us that the concept of one white race is a recent invention. The meaning, importance, and realty of this all-too-human thesis of race have buckled under the weight of a long and rich unfolding of events.
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Add this copy of The History of White People to cart. $15.97, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Emerald rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by W. W. Norton & Company.
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Add this copy of The History of White People to cart. $16.88, very good condition, Sold by Argosy Book Store rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from New York, NY, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Norton.
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Very good in very good jacket. Illustrated in black and white. xii, 496 pages. 8vo, black boards, d.w. (wrinkled, stained at rear). New York: Norton, (2010). First Edition. Few pages wavy near front, up page edge spotted, internally clean and tight. Very good in a very good dust wrapper.
Add this copy of The History of White People to cart. $18.69, good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by W. W. Norton & Company.
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Good. Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains.
Add this copy of History of White People to cart. $18.73, very good condition, Sold by The Wise Owl rated 2.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Omaha, NE, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by W. W. Norton & Company.
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Very good. No dust jacket. Very clean & tight! Appears to have never been used. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 512 p. Contains: Unspecified, Line drawings, black & white, Maps, Figures. Audience: General/trade.
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Very Good. Size: 6x0x9; Clean, sturdy, unmarked copy in very good condition. With dust jacket. Light wear to the top and bottom edges. A few pages dog earred. SZ.
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Add this copy of The History of White People to cart. $20.79, very good condition, Sold by Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Frederick, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by W. W. Norton & Company.
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Very Good. Very Good condition. Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp.
Add this copy of History of White People to cart. $40.60, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2010 by W. W. Norton & Company.
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Add this copy of History of White People to cart. $58.00, new condition, Sold by Russell Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Victoria, BC, CANADA, published 2010 by W. W. Norton & Company.
