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Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J. (2012). Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. New York, NY: Crown Publishing Group.
Why Nations Fail employs economic models to explore the differences in how nations develop. In the process the authors analyze the economic forces that lead some nations to wealth and others to poverty.
Alexander, Michelle. (2010). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York, NY: The New Press.
Alexander explores the role of race in the judicial system of the United States. Black men are overrepresented in incarceration centers. The book claims that such treatment of this minority is the equivalent of establishing new Jim Crow laws.
Biles, J. (2008). Integration policies in English-speaking Canada. In J. Biles, M. Burstein & T. Aiken (Eds.), Immigration and integration in Canada in the twenty-first century (pp. 139–186). Montreal, QC: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
This book offers a useful discussion of integration policies and strategies adopted by all three levels of government (federal, provincial, and municipal) and other universal service providers.
Buechler S.M. (2014). The social construction of race. In Critical Sociology (2nd ed.) (pp. 131–147). Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.
This essay presents a critical view of the concepts of race and ethnicity through a sociological lens. While questioning the biological basis of race, the author asserts that the very concept of race is a “racist” identification, which implies a hierarchical relationship.
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. (2015). Between the World and Me. New York, NY: Spiegel & Grau.
Between the World and Me explores class tensions based on race in America. The book is an autobiographical letter written by the author to his teenage son about his experience of being black in a Western culture.
Coleman, D.L. (2007). The role of law in relationships within immigrant families. In J.E. Lansford, K. Deater-Dechard, & M.H. Bornstein (Eds.), Immigrant Families in Contemporary Society (pp. 287–303). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
The author discusses how parent–child relationships within immigrant families are at an increased risk of official interventions, disruption, and even termination. This chapter presents a noteworthy discussion on how two cultures clash via cultural values and norms.
DiAngelo, Robin. (2018). White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
DiAngelo argues that a major problem stopping us from solving issues surrounding racism, is an ability for white people to come to terms with the issue without feeling offended or defensive. This feeling is what he refers to as “white fragility,” and ultimately stands in the way of real and honest conversations about class division on the basis of race.
Dyson, Michael. (2017). Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.
Michael Dyson is a professor of sociology at Georgetown University and in Tears We Cannot Stop, explores race relations particularly between blacks and whites. Of importance to the book is the social construction of ‘whiteness.’
Skloot, Rebecca. (2010). The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York, NY: Crown Publishing Group.
When Henrietta Lacks, a poor, black Southern tobacco farmer died, doctors removed cells from her cervix. The cells were developed into the first line of “immortal” human cells grown in culture. While predominately white scientists, researchers and business leaders profited off of her cells, Henrietta Lacks’ family received none of those profits and lives in dire financial circumstances.
Recommended Videos
Nakagawa, A.M. (Director). (2005). Between: Living in the Hyphen [Documentary]. Canada: National Film Board. https://www.nfb.ca/film/between_living_in_the_hyphen
This documentary presents the experiences of a group of Canadians—each with one parent from a European background and the other one from a visible minority. They struggle to find a satisfying frame of reference or identity. Ethnic identity seems more complicated than what the policy of multiculturalism implies. This shows how ethnic identity is defined subjectively and objectively.
Our Canada: Are We Racist? CBC News National, 2014: http://youtu.be/8ET8KyiY_Nc
This CBC documentary offers a vivid illustration of how Canadian racism prevails.
What Happened, Miss Simone? Netflix, 2015: https://www.netflix.com/watch/70308063?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2Cf66fb066d171a562d69dd83d38f89baeeb26c392%3Aff531e949bb1f1a50c190cefff2f5ced5706e687%2C%2C
This documentary is on Nina Simone, civil rights activist and jazz musician.
Recommended Websites
International Fund for Agricultural Development: https://www.ifad.org/en/about
The International Fund for Agricultural Development analyzes and tracks global poverty in rural centers. The reason for starting with rural areas is because approximately 3 billion people live in rural areas in the developing world. By combating poverty in rural communities, the fund aims to tackle problems such as insecure housing, food scarcity, and youth unemployment.
Hunger, Homelessness and Poverty Task Force: http://hhptf.org
The American Library Association set about a task force to research and propose solutions to areas facing poverty in America.
World Bank: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty
World Bank has a number of resources for understanding the distribution of poverty around the world. They use graphics, maps and statistics to illustrate trends in economic insecurity.