The history of White people

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Title:

The history of White people

Author:

Painter, Nell Irvin.

ISBN:

9780393049343

Edition:

1st ed.

Publication Information:

W.W. Norton, c2010.

Publisher:

W.W. Norton,

Format:

Regular print

Physical Description:

xii, 496 p. : ill.

Subject Term:

White people -- Race identity -- United States

Whites -- United States -- History.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Race relations.

Waiting List: Copies owned:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Shelf Location	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Lakeview	Adult Book	Adult Non-Fiction	305. 80097 PAI	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Topic:

Racial identity

Race relations

Ethnic relations

Racial conflict

American history

Civilization, Western

World history

Sociology

Genre:

NonFiction

History

Sociology

Syndetics ICE Summary:

A New York Times bestseller: "This terrific new book . . . [explores] the 'notion of whiteness,' an idea as dangerous as it is seductive."--Boston Globe

Telling perhaps the most important forgotten story in American history, eminent historian Nell Irvin Painter guides us through more than two thousand years of Western civilization, illuminating not only the invention of race but also the frequent praise of "whiteness" for economic, scientific, and political ends. A story filled with towering historical figures, The History of White People closes a huge gap in literature that has long focused on the non-white and forcefully reminds us that the concept of "race" is an all-too-human invention whose meaning, importance, and reality have changed as it has been driven by a long and rich history of events. (Publisher 2023-01-05)

Reviews (3)

Syndetics ICE Choice Review:

Race continues to exert great power. In the US, disproportionate power accrues to those seen as white, termed "Caucasian" in recent centuries. In a sweeping narrative, historian Painter (emer., Princeton) shows how the concept of race developed and how the notion of Caucasian came to mean light-skinned people of northern European lineage, about whom special beauty and intelligence were self-ascribed. Beginning with Johann Friedrich Blumenbach in the 18th century, the equation of Caucasian with northern European spread with the conquest of empires. English and Germanic peoples competed over whose culture represented scientific proof of possession of the purest Caucasian blood while using whiteness to justify the dispossession of the property and culture of nonwhites. With the emergence of the US as a world power, the Caucasian claim crossed the ocean, where the designation of who was white slowly broadened to include Irish and Italians. A historian's equivalent to Stephen Gould's The Mismeasure of Man (CH, Apr'82), Painter's critique demonstrates the persistence of "whiteness" and "blackness," even though science, once the handmaiden of racism, has disproven race as a valid scientific concept. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. E. R. Crowther Adams State College (Choice 2010-06-21, Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.)

Syndetics ICE LJ Review:

Turning the question, "What does it mean to be black?" on its head, historian Painter (American history, emerita, Princeton Univ.; Creating Black Americans) asks, "What does it mean to be white?" and, "Where did the idea of whiteness come from?" Digging down deep into source material dating from 400 B.C.E. to the present, Painter locates the etymology of terms like Caucasian and Anglo-Saxon and reveals surprising facts-for instance, that ancient literature does not classify peoples based on skin color, that living in slavery is not a unique experience to those of African descent, and that early Irish American immigrants were not automatically considered white. Although Painter's comprehensive style makes this a hefty tome that can, at times, read like an attempt to out racist thinkers from history, the narrative is ultimately intriguing and well researched. VERDICT This is an important addition to the nascent academic field of whiteness studies, which examines the social construction of whiteness with particular attention to the American experience. It should be read by all historians and anyone with an interest in cultural studies. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/09.]-April Younglove, Rochester Regional Lib. Council, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. (Library Journal 2010-10-27, (c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.)

Syndetics ICE PW Review:

Who are white people and where did they come from? Elementary questions with elusive, contradictory, and complicated answers set historian Painter's inquiry into motion. From notions of whiteness in Greek literature to the changing nature of "white" identity "in direct response to Malcolm X and his black power successors," Painter's wide-ranging response is a who's who of racial thinkers and a synoptic guide to their work. Her commodious history of an idea accommodates Caesar; Saint Patrick, "history's most famous British slave of the early medieval period"; Madame de Stael; and Emerson, "the philosopher king of American white race theory." Painter (Sojourner Truth) reviews the diverse cast in their intellectual milieus, linking them to one another across time and language barriers. Conceptions of beauty ("ideals of white beauty [became] firmly embedded in the science of race"), social science research, and persistent North/South stereotypes prove relevant to defining whiteness. "What we can see," the author observes, "depends heavily on what our culture has trained us to look for." For the variable, changing, and often capricious definition of whiteness, Painter offers a kaleidoscopic lens. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved (Publishers Weekly 2010-09-22, (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved)