Racializing Class, Classifying Race

The ten essays in this book explore the intersection of race and class in the study of labor on three continents. Leading scholars examine the way in which working-class identities took shape and changed over time in a variety of settings from the sea ports of southern Africa to the copper mining region of the American southwest. Engaged with debates in current scholarship yet accessible to a general audience, these essays deepen an understanding of the international dimension of labor history.

Ten essays explore the different ways in which racial and class identities intersect, in a variety of geographic settings ranging from the copper belt of the American Southwest to the coal mines of Nigeria. Sharing a common concern with the construction of working class identities, authors employ different methodologies to examine the construction of group consciousness, with analysis grounded within economic life and the labor process. Essays originated at a conference held at St. Anthony's College, Oxford, summer 1997. Alexander teaches sociology at the Rand Afrikaans University, South Africa. Halpern teaches history of the US at University College London. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Peter Alexander is Lecturer in Sociology at the Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa.

Rick Halpern is Reader in the History of the United States at University College of London.