The Trouble with Diversity: How We Learned to Love Identity and Ignore Inequality
by Walter Benn Michaels
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Book Summary Information
Author: Walter Benn MichaelsEdition: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2006-10-03
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Metropolitan Books
Book Reviews of The Trouble with Diversity: How We Learned to Love Identity and Ignore Inequality
Book Review: Disturbing yet accurate view of diversity
Summary: 4 Stars
As somebody who works in the diversity office of an elite university, I found this book sadly accurate. It articulates well how an emphasis on diversity and multiculturalism can detract from problems of economic inequality. My own office spends considerable money on programs that support wealthy students who happen to be classified as ethnic minorities. I have witnessed our school fight ferociously with other elite colleges in an attempt to recruit a small pool of minority candidates. However, I have never heard anybody discuss why there are so few minority candidates to begin with - or, rather, minority candidates who meet the school's standards for "academic excellence." Our lack of Hispanic, African-American, and Native American students is often explained in terms of prejudice and discrimination, not lack of educational opportunity.
I had only two gripes with this book. The first was that it seemed more like an extended article. I'm not sure Michaels had enough material for an entire book and by Chapter 5, his argument sounds repetitive. Second, he offers no solutions and ends on a depressing note. The last section "About the Author" is a tongue-in-cheek look at his own social position and financial motivations for writing the book. But as somebody in the midst of what he's talking about, I really wanted at least a few suggestions or recommendations, even if they are based on his own perspective as an English professor. He's obviously thought very deeply about this topic, and I would find it hard to believe that he has no suggestions beyond a law to fund all public schools equally (which he admits is unlikely to even show up on a ballot).
Overall, Michaels writing is highly engaging and accessible. Although the ideas he presents are sometimes complicated, the book was very easy to read.
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