Minority report: an introduction to racial, ethnic, and gender relations

THE MINORITY REPORT is the first text for courses in minorities and race relations to combine a survey of sociological findings and theories on minority relations with the personal views of sociologists who themselves are minority group members. The authors stress two central themes: (1) that race, ethnicity, and gender relations are social variables subject to social definition and consequences; and (2) that sociology can provide several heuristic orientations toward such social data, definitions, and consequences. Part One, "Theoretical Perspectives," presents a sociological paradigm for studying minorities that introduces the concept of the minority group, and examines several theoretical models for explaining the diversity of minority-group life and the resolution of minority-group status. Part Two, "The Reports," comprises the individual case studies authored by sociologists who are members of the minorities they discuss both in light of personal experience and in terms of scientific objectivity.