Ethnic Studies at the Crossroads - by George Lipsitz (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Reckoning with the current state of ethnic studies.

Ethnic studies is more visible than ever. A project that once struggled at the margins of academic and public life has now achieved significant levels of prominence and impact, not without threat from well-funded political and legal campaigns against critical affirmative action, critical race theory, and diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. In this "moment of danger," George Lipsitz looks at the current state of the field.

Outlining the painful contradictions faced within, Lipsitz delineates the ways in which ethnic studies produces opposition, experiences incorporation, and equips people to challenge, survive, and overcome oppression. He also looks at its potential in connecting those across the academy with broader community circles and discovering unexpected alliances and affinities. Critical yet optimistic, this book upholds the promising wider role of ethnic studies in social transformation.

From the Back Cover

"Ethnic Studies at the Crossroads is an essential and timely intervention by one of the field's most respected veterans--exactly the kind of reading we need right now. Drawing on decades of scholarship on the operations of racism in contemporary society, the author brings unmatched clarity, insight, and conviction to the urgent task of reimagining ethnic studies for the future. This book not only traces the field's complex trajectory--its oppositional roots, moments of co-optation, and deep ties to community-based knowledge--but also offers a compelling road map for revitalizing its transformative potential. A vital contribution for all who believe in the liberatory promise of education."--Arlene Dávila, author of Latinx Art: Artists, Markets, and Politics

"Ethnic Studies at the Crossroads recognizes and values the leadership and knowledge of individuals, communities, and organizations shaped by lived experience, challenging oppression and advocating for the rights we all deserve."--Young Shin, Founding Director of Asian Immigrant Women Advocates.

"In these dangerous times, George Lipsitz's powerful--and cautiously hopeful--account of ethnic studies is an essential read. Combining urgency and analysis with beautiful writing, this narrative of power, knowledge, and history is unsurpassed."--Julie Sze, author of Environmental Justice in a Moment of Danger

"Ethnic Studies at the Crossroads illuminates and encourages the activist spirit that occasioned ethnic studies and does so for a world that desperately needs it. As Lipsitz powerfully argues, engaging with ethnic studies is one way in which we can identify and challenge the banality of injustice. This means learning from and working with the communities of the oppressed that laid the political and cultural foundations for all of our work. Think of this book as an invitation to join a great meeting of workers, artists, scholars, teachers, neighbors, and activists--people who know that if we walk together for freedom, we will not get weary."--Roderick A. Ferguson, author of We Demand: The University and Student Protests

"This book is a generous gift: a critical contextualization of the field's formations and struggles, and what these projects do with, by, and for our past and present moments. Lipsitz shares abundant points of arrival for new and familiar readers to gather, relate, engage, and co-create new futures into being."--Jessica Bissett Perea, author of Sound Relations: Native Ways of Doing Music History in Alaska

About the Author

George Lipsitz is Research Professor Emeritus of Black Studies and Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.