Mixed Race Studies

 Mixed Dreams: A Symposium on Multiracial Identities in the United States

2010-10-15 through 2010-10-20
Oberlin College
Oberlin, Ohio

At its root, Mixed Dreams: A Symposium on Multiracial Identities in the U.S. aims to create a space to discuss and interrogate historical and contemporary perspectives on multiraciality and the “multiracial experiences” of people identifying as bi-racial, mixed, and/or transracial/transnational adoptees in the United States. Through public lectures and panels it will explore current trends and dilemmas in understanding multiraciality historically, socially and politically as well as the growing narratives and spaces being created to express these “mixed” subjectivities. Featured guests will be Paul Spickard, Eric Hamako, Debra Yepa-Pappan, Alicia Arrizón and a video conference discussion with G.Reginald Daniel.

For more information, click here.

“Girl, You Are Not Morena. We Are Negras!”: Questioning the Concept of “Race” in Southern Bahia, Brazil

Ethos
Volume 35, Issue 3 (September 2007)
pages 383-409
DOI: 10.1525/eth.2007.35.3.383

Michael D. Baran, Preceptor in Expository Writing
Harvard University

In 2003, teachers at the municipal high school in Belmonte, Brazil, began presenting students with a radically different ideology about racial categorization: an essentialized ideology that defines anyone not “purely” branco (white) as negro (black). This system of categorization conflicts with popular belief in a mixed-race moreno identity based not only on ancestry but also on observable physical features. Through a combination of ethnographic and experimental methods, I examine this apparent clash of ideologies in Belmonte with respect to academic theories on the cognition of race and ethnicity. I show how children and adults integrate certain aspects of essentialism but not others in their constructions of identity and in the way they reason about hypothetical scenarios. These nuanced solutions to the challenges posed by explicit conflicts over supposedly natural categories lead to my own questioning of race in anthropological theory.

During a March afternoon in 2003, in an eighth-grade science class in Belmonte, Brazil, racial ideologies collided. The lesson of the day dealt with human biology and basic genetics. One student in the class asked the teacher about the biology of race mixing. The teacher then tried to clarify the supposedly natural facts about racial classification for the class. She explained that there were only two races—blonde and blue-eyed brancos (whites) and everyone else, considered negros (blacks). Although a few heads nodded in approval, most of the class looked confused or upset. The teacher was presenting a particularly extreme form of the racial classification system that black movements have urged Brazilians to adopt, one in which those with any traceable African ancestry would self-identify as “negro” as a sign of positive self-image and political solidarity. While this conception of “negro” has been animating black movements for at least 25 years in Brazil’s urban centers, it has only now reached more rural areas like Belmonte. And it is not always well received.

“I’m morena, not negra!”2 cried 14-year old Paula. This claim of mixed-race “brown” identity echoes the more common ideology in Belmonte, academically labeled “racial democracy.” The roots of this ideology extend back to Brazilian sociologist Gilberto Freyre’s influential 1933 book, The Masters and the Slaves (1946). Freyre found strength in the biological and cultural mixing of Portuguese colonizers, native Brazilians, and slaves of African descent, whereas race scientists before him saw only physical and mental weakness (Freyre 1946; Nina Rodrigues 1938; Ramos 1939). Freyre’s foundational story, still framing Brazilian history in school texts, holds that historical mixing has created an ethnically unified population without stark racial divisions or resulting discriminations making Brazil a supposed “racial paradise.” Consistent with this ideology, most residents of Belmonte prefer to self-identify with the inclusive term morena, which can be used in various linguistic contexts to refer to almost any combination of physical features. To call someone a “negra” within this racial democracy ideology is to separate them out from the mixed Brazilian mainstream and denigrate them as a separate category of “pure” black, associated with slavery and Africa. That is just what caused a stir when Ana Maria yelled out to Paula, “Girl, you are not morena. We are negras!”

In the title of this article, the phrase “Questioning the Concept of Race” has two levels of significance. First, it refers to the questions of some students as teachers impose new identity categories that clash with previously held “common sense” beliefs about race. Second, the title of this article refers to my own questions regarding academic conceptions of race. In the literature on racial categorization in Brazil, I found two different arguments that parallel the debate in the class between Ana Maria and Paula. On the one hand, a more conventional wisdom holds that racial categories in Brazil are multiple (up to hundreds in some cases), they can change from day to day or person to person, and they are based on physical features rather than rules of descent (Harris 1970; Harris and Kottak 1963; Kottak 1983).5 On the other hand, recent critics, both anthropological and psychological, argue that racial categories in Brazil are essentialized: they are dichotomous, rigid, and defined by descent (Gil-White 2001b; Sheriff 2001). Observing the coexistence of both ideologies in Belmonte and the active construction of supposedly natural categories by local actors led me to question both sides of this scholarly debate and to question the academic concept of race more generally…

Read or purchase the article here.

The Melungeon Identity Movement and the Construction of Appalachian Whiteness

Journal of Linguistic Anthropology
Volume 11, Issue 1 (June 2001)
pages 131-146
DOI: 10.1525/jlin.2001.11.1.131

Anita Puckett, Associate Professor of Appalachian Studies
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

How this binary system is discursively constituted depends upon the ways in which elements of a repertoire interconnect to distribute or consolidate power and privilege across discursive contexts. Circulation of the revitalized lexeme Melungeon as a valued “object” within Appalachian discourse reveals linguistic processes by which white racial privilege is constructed and expanded, mixed-race classification excluded, and nonwhite disenfranchisement reproduced.

Read the entire article here.

Ethnic Studies 064: Mixed Race Descent in the Americas

Mills College, Oakland, California
Fall 2010

Melinda Micco, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies

This is an introductory course that examines the historical and theoretical development of identities and of communities of multiracial and multiethnic people. In the academy, in government, and in popular culture, the lives and experiences of racially mixed people, and how others perceive them, have become topics of intense debate and scrutiny since the late-1990s. Mostly recently, newly elected President Barack Obama’s racial and ethnic identity highlighted the issues and played a significant role in the 2008 presidential elections.

This course will examine the historical evolution of such terms as the “marginal man” and the “150% man” to understand the present concerns of racial and ethnic stereotyping. We will engage questions such as: Who are “mixed-race” people in the US? How are they perceived, described, and treated in various communities? What are the effects of various federal and state policies, such as anti-miscegenation laws, American Indian “relocation,” immigration, and Japanese American internment? What is the legacy of race-based chattel slavery on both African-American and non-African-American communities? What are racial and color hierarchies and how do they affect mixed-race people? What are real lived experiences of mixed-race people in the US?

Required Text

• Gaskins, P. F. (1999). What are you?: Voices of Mixed-Race Young People. New York: Macmillan.
• Ifekwunigwe, J. O. (Ed.) (2004). Mixed Race Studies: A Reader. New York: Routledge.
• Spickard, P. R., & Burroughs, W. J. (Eds.) (2000). We Are A People: Narrative and Multiplicity in Constructing Ethnic Identity. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

For more information, click here.

Difference and Belonging, Hopes and Fears: Parenting ‘mixed’ children and the implications for career development

International Center for Guidence Studies (iCEGS)
University of Derby
Occasional Paper
2008
16 pages
3 charts; 1 table

Rosalind Edwards, Professor in Social Policy and Director of the Families & Social Capital Research Group
London South Bank University

From the CeGS 10th Annual Lecture held at the University of Derby on 18th December 2007

I am very pleased to give the International Centre for Guidance Studies 10th annual lecture, and to indicate some of the implications of our research on ‘mixed’ families for your field of career development and guidance. I must stress, though, that I am no expert in your field. My interest and experience lies in people’s family lives in general. So, I will do my best in making links between my interest and yours, and I hope that you will be able to fill in any gaps.

In my lecture, I will address some of the debates about how to refer to children and young people who are from a ‘mixed’ racial or ethnic, and maybe also a ‘mixed’ faith, background, and how these relate to the politics of identity. I hope that this will explain to any of you who are perplexed as to why my lecture title refers to ‘mixed’ children. Having done that, I will be moving on to more important issues. I will give you a picture of ‘mixed’ families across Britain, before looking at the ways that parents from different backgrounds attempt to deal with difference and a sense of belonging for their children, how schools may be a resource in this, and their hopes for their children’s future…

Read the entire paper here.

Mixedness and The Arts

Runnymede Thinkpiece
Runnymede Trust
July 2010
18 pages
ISBN: 978-1-906732-63-9 (online)
EAN: 9781906732639 (online)
ISBN: 978-1-906732-64-6 (print)
EAN: 9781906732646 (print)

Chamion Caballero, Senior Research Fellow
Families & Social Capital Research Group
London South Bank University

This think piece explores the presentation of mixed-race identity in the sphere of arts and culture in the UK.

The piece examines some of the assumptions that surround mixed identity, and places them in a historical, political and policy context.

Taking contributions from practitioners in the arts, many of whom have engaged this issue directly, the report lays out the three key topics that arise from reflection on the debates:

Dr. Caballero frames her argument under the subheadings of Recognition of Experience; Negotiation of Complexity; and Politics of Ownership.

The debates identified by this think piece (and hopefully the ones sparked by it) are highly important to our understanding of racial dynamics in British society today.

Table of Contents

Contents
Foreword
Introduction
A note on terminology
1. Background: discussions of ‘mixedness’
2. The recognition of experiences
3. The negotiation of complexity
4. The politics of ownership
5. Summary and concluding thoughts
References

Foreword

The increasing visibility of mixedness and mixed people has led to a great deal of reflection on the nature of ethnic identities and their significance for society at large. In the light of census data predicting ‘mixed race’ becoming the largest ethnic minority group within two decades, there has been widespread debate about what this means for race and race relations in the 21st century. However debates on this subject rarely engage critically with the complexity that discussions of identity, let alone mixed ethnic identities truly deserve. The statistic above has often been accepted at face value with little thought devoted to teasing out exactly what such a ‘fact’ assumes about the nature of race, and whether these assumptions are ones that a modern, multi-ethnic nation is comfortable with.

In order to address this lack of nuance, Runnymede and the Arts Council have commissioned this thinkpiece by Dr Chamion Caballero. The piece examines some of the assumptions that surround mixed identity in Britain today, and places them in a historical, political and policy context. Taking contributions from practioners in the Arts, many of whom have engaged this issue directly; it lays out the three key topics that arise from reflection on the debates. Dr. Caballero argues that the first such issue is Recognition of Experience and whether the recognition of mixed experience is welcome or even necessary. Following on from this is the Negotiation of Complexity; many of the artists who commented stressed that representation of mixed identity must involve recognising the complex nuances inherent in that identity if it is not to become shallow, reductive, or irrelevant. The final issue, and perhaps the most loaded is the Politics of Ownership; who gets to define ‘mixedness’ and who gets to represent it, are sensitive issues that must be borne in mind, and many of the participants were wary of easy answers to these questions.

The debates identified by this think piece (and hopefully the ones sparked by it) are highly important to our understanding of racial dynamics in British society today. Questions of mixedness open up further questions not just about our concepts of race but of the nature of identity and its construction. Debates rage about the apparent failure of the multicultural project and its policy successors, about biological determinism and the role of genetics, about immigration and nationality, and about the role of art in a society facing economic strictures not seen in a generation. Deeper reflections upon concepts like race and identity, art and culture which underpin so many of these discussions could therefore scarcely be more timely. We publish this paper to encourage, rather than close down debate. We believe that it is important that we reflect on these issues and consider how best to ensure that policy and practice delivers for all if we are to become a successful multi-ethnic society.

Dr Rob Berkeley
Director, Runnymede

Read the entire report here.

“Not belonging” to any single ethnic group and its influence on self-identity formation: An exploratory, qualitative study of the multiracial experience

California Institute of Integral Studies, San Fransisco
2010
150 pages
AAT 3407199
ISBN: 9781109754452

Malia Joiner

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the California Institute of Integral Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology California Institute of Integral Studies

This qualitative inquiry explored the Multiracial woman’s experience of “not belonging” to any single ethnic group and the consequences for self-identity formation. Interview data were collected from self-identified Multiracial women, at least 18 years of age, who participated in semistructured interviews. Subjects were solicited through snowballing recruitment and searches at universities and websites geared toward Multiracial individuals.

The data were analyzed and grouped into themes according to phenomenological methods, with the goal of identifying common themes among women of Multiracial backgrounds in regard to their experiences around identity formation. The salient themes were (a) Phenotype, (b) Childhood Experiences, (c) Geographical Impact, (d) Sexuality and Self-Esteem, (e) Belonging, and (f) Identity Fluidity. These themes were found to be present in either the majority or all of the narratives, and were therefore likely indicative of a larger collective experience.

The limitations of this study were related to researcher bias and to the geographic and socioeconomic homogeneity of the sample. The sample was also skewed with higher levels of education as well as a strong representation of at least partial Asian ethnicity. Further research could attend to these limitations and build upon the results of this study.

Table of Contents

• Abstract
• Dedication
• List of Tables
• Chapter 1 Introduction
  • Background of the Problem
  • Statement of the Problem
  • Purpose of the Study
• Chapter 2 Literature Review
  • Definition of Terms
    • Race
    • Ethnicity
    • Culture
    • Identity
  • Identity
    • Ethnic identity
      • Ethnic identity formation
        • Phinney’s developmental model of ethnic identity formation
        • Poston’s Biracial Identity Model
        • Kich’s Biracial Identity Development Model
      • Gender and identity formation
        • The Womanist Identity Development Model
        • The womanist consciousness approach
    • The Multiracial Experience
      • Power and guilt
      • Physical appearance
      • Sexualized stereotypes
      • Parental influence and family dysfunction
      • Otherness
    • Counseling Implications
• Chapter 3 Methodology
  • Research Design
  • Data Collection and Participants
  • Data Analysis
  • Verification Procedures
• Chapter 4 Findings
  • Participants
  • Themes
    • Phenotype
    • Childhood experiences
    • Geographical impact
    • Sexuality and self-esteem
    • Belonging
    • Identity fluidity
• Chapter 5 Discussion and Recommendations
  • Discussion
    • Phenotype
    • Childhood experiences
    • Geographical impact
    • Sexuality and self-esteem
    • Belonging
    • Identity fluidity
  • Personal Assumptions and Their Relationship to the Findings
  • Limitations of the Study
  • Recommendations for Future Study
  • Clinical Implications
  • Summary
• References
• Appendix A Informed Consent to Participate in Research
• Appendix B Sample Interview Questions
• Appendix C Sample Interview Transcript
• Appendix D Codes Resulting From Data Analysis Phase 2

Purchase the dissertation here.

Multiethnic Multiracial Experience (Ethnic Studies 199)

University of Oregon
Winter 2010

Anselmo Villanueva, Ph.D.

This course will focus on the multiracial multiethnic experience in the United States, with particular emphasis on the Northwest. This course will provide students with a framework to understand this experience. The course will cover the history and background of the mixed race experience, anti-miscegenation laws and practices, research, identity models, resources, and case studies. The topic of trans-racial adoption will also be included in this course.

Traditionally, the multiracial experience has been defined as literally “Black” and “White” – people, relationships, and marriages that have been between White and African American people. This course will also include the experiences of multiple relationships and people, such as Asian and Latino, Black and Asian, and so on. Multiethnic relationships will also be included, such as Chinese and Korean.

Students will develop a broad understanding of the multiracial multiethnic experience. In the process, students will also have the opportunity to examine their own culture, ethnic identity, and background. Students will also examine attitudes and beliefs related to the mixed race experience.

For more information, click here.

VIS409 Mixed Race Women’s Memoirs

Antioch University, Midwest
Winter 2010

This course is designed as a multidisciplinary exploration of race, gender, and identity utilizing oral and written narratives of Black-white mixed race women from the mid-nineteenth century to the present as source material. Drawing from elements of cultural studies, African American studies, American studies, and women’s studies, students will construct critical and historical contexts for self-identity and perceptions of that identity in women of interracial descent.

Hybrid Identities: Theoretical and Empirical Examinations

Brill Publishing
2008
412 pages
Hardback ISBN-13: 978 90 04 17039 1; ISBN-10: 90 04 17039 1

Edited by

Keri E. Iyall Smith, Assistant Professor of Sociology
Suffolk University, Boston, Massachusetts

Patricia Leavy, Associate Professor of Sociology
Stonehill College, Easton, Massachusetts

Combining theoretical and empirical pieces, this book explores the emerging theoretical work seeking to describe hybrid identities while also illustrating the application of these theories in empirical research. The sociological perspective of this volume sets it apart. Hybrid identities continue to be predominant in minority or immigrant communities, but these are not the only sites of hybridity in the globalized world. Given a compressed world and a constrained state, identities for all individuals and collective selves are becoming more complex. The hybrid identity allows for the perpetuation of the local, in the context of the global. This book presents studies of types of hybrid identities: transnational, double consciousness, gender, diaspora, the third space, and the internal colony.

Contributors include: Keri E. Iyall Smith, Patrick Gun Cuninghame, Judith R. Blau, Eric S. Brown, Fabienne Darling-Wolf, Salvador Vidal-Ortiz, Melissa F. Weiner, Bedelia Nicola Richards, Keith Nurse, Roderick Bush, Patricia Leavy, Trinidad Gonzales, Sharlene Hesse-Biber, Emily Brooke Barko, Tess Moeke-Maxwell, Helen Kim, Bedelia Nicola Richards, Helene K. Lee, Alex Frame, Paul Meredith, David L. Brunsma and Daniel J. Delgado.

Table of Contents

List of Figures
Acknowledgements

I. THEORETICAL STUDY OF HYBRIDITY
1. Hybrid Identities: Theoretical Examinations, Keri E. Iyall Smith
2. Hybridity, Transnationalism, and Identity in the US-Mexican Borderlands, Patrick Gun Cuninghame
3. DuBois and Diasporic Identity: The Veil and the Unveiling Project, Judith R. Blau and Eric S. Brown
4. Disturbingly Hybrid or Distressingly Patriarchal? Gender Hybridity in a Global Environment, Fabienne Darling-Wolf
5. Gender and the Hybrid Identity: On Passing Through, Salvador Vidal-Ortiz
6. Bridging the Theoretical Gap: The Diasporized Hybrid in Sociological Theory, Melissa F. Weiner and Bedelia Nicola Richards
7. Geoculture and Popular Culture: Carnivals, Diasporas, and Hybridities in the Americas, Keith Nurse
8. The Internal Colony Hybrid: Reformulating Structure, Culture, and Agency, Roderick Bush

PART II. EMPIRICAL STUDIES ON HYBRID IDENTITIES
9. An Introduction to Empirical Examinations of Hybridity, Patricia Leavy
10. Conquest, Colonization, and Borderland Identities: The World of Ethnic Mexicans in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, 1900–1930, Trinidad Gonzales
11. Neither Black nor White Enough – and Beyond Black or White: The Lived Experiences of African-American Women at Predominantly White Colleges, Sharlene Hesse-Biber and Emily Brooke Barko
12. Creating Place from Confl icted Space: Bi/Multi Racial Māori Women’s Inclusion within New Zealand Mental Health Services, Tess Moeke-Maxwell
13. Women Occupying the Hybrid Space: Second-Generation Korean-American Women Negotiating Choices Regarding Work and Family, Helen Kim
14. Hybrid Identities in the Diaspora: Second-Generation West Indians in Brooklyn, Bedelia Nicola Richards
15. Hybridized Korean Identities: The Making of Korean-Americans and Joseonjok, Helene K. Lee
16. One Plus One Equals Three: Legal Hybridity in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Alex Frame and Paul Meredith
17. Occupying Third Space: Hybridity and Identity Matrices in the Multiracial Experience, David L. Brunsma and Daniel J. Delgado

Author Biographies
References
Index