Racial Situations

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!
Review: As a white person who grew up in Detroit in the 1980s, this book caught my eye. Hartigan explores the ways in which whites are viewed in Detroit, in ways that can either emphasize or de-emphasize their whiteness. He explores whites in three different neighborhoods, where they are variously constructed as hillbillies, gentrifiers and racists, by interviewing and observing residents. He also brings into play the history of Detroit - the differences between the riots of the 40s and 60s - and examines the implications of racial tensions. Hartigan makes his topic vivid and interesting through his incorporation of personal narratives and his own experiences. This book is good not only for the anthropologist interested in American ethnography but also for the reader interested in race and history.