Romance of culture in an urban civilization : Robert E. Park on race and ethnic relation in cities

The Romance of Culture in an Urban Civilization is part of the resurgence of interest in the sociological approach developed by Robert E. Park and the Chicago School. Lal shows the seminal influence of this perspective on the modern analysis of race and ethnic relations among social geographers and anthropologists, as well as sociologists. She challenges conventional interpretations by assigning little importance the 'race relations cycle'. Instead, Lal situates Park's ideas in their appropriate intellectual and social contexts. She examines Park's views on how immigration affected democratic institutions and on the prospects for racial justice, both of which preoccupied many other thoughtful Americans confronting large-scale population movements, the growth of cities, and the transformation of pre-industrial America during the first decades of the twentieth century.

This book is essential reading for specialists in race and ethnic relations, sociological theory, and methods of social research. In addition her work is of interest to readers following contemporary social policy debates about issues such as the nature and significance of ethnic pluralism, and the role of conflict among ethnic minorities.

The author: Barbara Ballis Lal is a senior lecturer in Social Science and Administration at Goldsmith's College, University of London.