More Than Just Race

As you read this this afternoon, think of me and wish me luck as I present my dissertation proposal today.  This is the first of two official hurdles required to graduate at this point.  I've been working all week on my ppt and am ready to get this over with!

In honor of the great academic slog, I recommend this review by sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh at Salon of sociologist William Julius Wilson's new book, More Than Just Race.  It talks about Wilson's effort to "trascend the polarizing discourse on race in American society."  Given this is a frequent discussion topic here at Poverty in America, I thought you might all enjoy the overview of this latest work on urban black poverty and how we can better understand and respond to it.

Here's an excerpt to get you started:

Wilson wants to explain inner-city behavior—such as young black males' disdain for low-wage jobs, their use of violence, and their refusal to take responsibility for children—without pointing simplistically to discrimination or a deficit in values. Instead, he argues that many years of exposure to similar situations can create responses that look as if they express individual will or active preference when they are, in fact, adaptations or resigned responses to racial exclusion.

This is from half way down a single page view or on the second page - that's where the meaty stuff begins.  I highly recommend checking it out.

Discuss!