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Showing papers by "Michèle Lamont published in 2005"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, an exploratory study made a contribution to the literature on antiracism by unpacking the cultural categories through which everyday ant-racism is experienced and practiced by extraordinarily successful African Americans.
Abstract: This exploratory study makes a contribution to the literature on antiracism by unpacking the cultural categories through which everyday antiracism is experienced and practiced by extraordinarily successful African Americans. Using a phenomenological approach, we focus on processes of classification to analyze the criteria that members of the African American elite mobilize to compare racial groups and establish their equality. We first summarize results from earlier work on the antiracist strategies of White and African American workers. Second, drawing upon in-depth interviews with members of the Black elite, we show that demonstrating intelligence and competence, and gaining knowledge, are particularly valued strategies of equalization, while religion has a subordinate role within their antiracist repertoire. Thus, gaining cultural membership is often equated with educational and occupational attainment. Antiracist strategies that value college education and achievement by the standards of American individualism may exclude many poor and working-class African Americans from cultural membership. In this way, strategies of equalization based on educational and professional competence may prove dysfunctional for racial solidarity.

87 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jun 2005
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse les changes dans la categorisation of l'identite collective des groups stigmatised en Israel, en Irlande du Nord, au Quebec and au Bresil.
Abstract: Faisant appel aux etudes recentes portant sur la reconnaissance et l’identite sociale, nous analysons les changements dans la categorisation de l’identite collective des groupes stigmatises en Israel, en Irlande du Nord, au Quebec et au Bresil. Alors que la litterature sur la reconnaissance tend a presumer une opposition nette entre « nous » et « eux », l’analyse de la litterature empirique demontre la complexification et la multiplication des categories d’identite. Dans les quatre cas nous avons observe le processus de reconnaissance, en explorant les transformations de la signification des frontieres internes et externes de l’identite collective pour ses membres ainsi que pour ceux qui lui sont exterieurs. Nous soutenons que la nature conditionnelle de la reconnaissance devrait conduire les chercheurs a considerer non seulement les composantes normatives du conflit ethnique mais aussi, en leur accordant une importance particuliere, le langage et la categorisation qui fondent ce type de debat.

46 citations


01 Jun 2005
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse les changes dans la categorisation of l'identite collective des groups stigmatised en Israel, en Irlande du Nord, au Quebec and au Bresil.
Abstract: Faisant appel aux etudes recentes portant sur la reconnaissance et l’identite sociale, nous analysons les changements dans la categorisation de l’identite collective des groupes stigmatises en Israel, en Irlande du Nord, au Quebec et au Bresil. Alors que la litterature sur la reconnaissance tend a presumer une opposition nette entre « nous » et « eux », l’analyse de la litterature empirique demontre la complexification et la multiplication des categories d’identite. Dans les quatre cas nous avons observe le processus de reconnaissance, en explorant les transformations de la signification des frontieres internes et externes de l’identite collective pour ses membres ainsi que pour ceux qui lui sont exterieurs. Nous soutenons que la nature conditionnelle de la reconnaissance devrait conduire les chercheurs a considerer non seulement les composantes normatives du conflit ethnique mais aussi, en leur accordant une importance particuliere, le langage et la categorisation qui fondent ce type de debat.

15 citations


01 Jan 2005
TL;DR: In this article, the authors trace changes in the categorization of collective identity among stigmatized groups in Israel, Northern reland, Quebec, and Brazil and highlight the significance of internal and external boundaries of collective identities.
Abstract: Drawing upon recent advances in the study of recognition and social identity, we trace changes in the categorization of collective identity among stigmatized groups in Israel, Northern reland, Quebec, and Brazil. While the recognition literature commonly assumes an opposition between « Us » and « Them », a review of these empirical cases illustrates the full complexity of identity categories in each of the four cases. We focus on the process of recognition in each case while highlighting the significance of internal and external boundaries of collective identity. We argue that the contingent nature of recognition should lead scholars to consider not only the normative components of ethnic conflict, but more importantly the language and categories which form the basis for such debates.

1 citations