Histories of Race and Racism

“This timely and important collection should appeal not just to historians of Latin America but also to scholars interested in colonialism, subaltern studies, social policy, modernization, and nation building. Focusing on race and racism in five countries over several centuries, the contributors address themes such as education, cultural nationalism, and definitions of mestizaje and hybridity, enabling readers to see how similar concerns played out in different places and times.” - Mary Roldán, author of Blood and Fire: La Violencia in Antioquia, Colombia, 1946–1953

“This valuable collection delves into issues of racism and indigenous identity at a regional level, in a way that no other book does. Focusing on Mesoamerica and the Andes, where most indigenous Latin Americans live, well-known specialists in their fields offer interesting, up-to-date scholarship on the discrimination that indigenous peoples have suffered from the colonial period to the present.” - Erick D. Langer, editor of Contemporary Indigenous Movements in Latin America

“This is a superior and important book, which will be widely used and cited.” - Peter Wade, Journal of Latin American Studies

“This book performs the useful service of introducing the work of many of these scholars—especially the Latin American scholars—to an English-speaking audience. It does this while also crafting a whole that is more unified, with its various parts in dialogue with one another, than is usual in an edited collection. Laura Gotkowitz should be complimented on the accomplishment.” - Robert L. Smale, A Contracorriente

“While the temporal distribution of the collection favors the twentieth century, scholars of all time periods will benefit from the varied methodologies and perspectives presented by the contributors. Ultimately, this volume represents a very valuable collection of cutting-edge research into the permutations of race and racism throughout the history of Latin America.” - Robert C. Schwaller, Ethnohistories

“A major contribution of this volume is the way in which it puts into dialogue histories of race from colonial times to the present, including current indigenous mobilizations. For this reason, it will be an excellent addition to undergraduate surveys and courses on race in Latin American history.”  - Waskar T. Ari-Chachaki, Social History

“The importance of this volume is multiple. It is timely, answering a need for deeper understanding of race/racism in the region given the growing number of violent racist incidents…Moreover, the volume brings together debates relevant to history as well as colonialism, subaltern studies, development studies, sociology, social policy and international relations.”  - Karem Roitman, Ethnic and Racial Studies

“... the collected essays from Gotkowitz have expanded the historiographical debate on race issues. They will provide an essential framework for historians in uncovering the contested and continuously shifting contexts within which race developed and currently exists in Latin America.”  - Paul Rellstab Ameriquests

“Histories of Race and Racism offers significant, accessible and clearly written contributions from the fields of history and cultural anthropology to the study of Indigenous identities and politics that will be useful for those teaching or writing about race and the colonial legacies of Latin America.” - Elizabeth Shesko, Journal of Colonialism & Colonial History