Constructing Mixed Race: Racial Formation in the United States of America and Great Britain
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Constructing Mixed Race: Racial Formation in the United States of America and Great Britain A thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2016 Chinelo L. Njaka School of Social Sciences Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................... 5 Declaration ............................................................................................................... 6 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. 7 Chapter One: Introduction ........................................................................................ 8 Critical Mixed Race Studies................................................................................. 10 Research Scope .................................................................................................. 14 Research Questions ............................................................................................ 17 A Note on Terminology ........................................................................................ 19 Chapter Summaries ............................................................................................. 20 Chapter Two: Theoretical Framework ..................................................................... 25 Chapter Overview ................................................................................................ 25 Mixed Race Literature ......................................................................................... 26 Mixed Race “Pathology”: Historical Mixed Race Theory .................................. 28 Celebration, Response, and Radical: Current Mixed Race Theorisation .......... 35 Critical Mixed Race Studies ............................................................................. 40 Racial Formation Theory ...................................................................................... 46 Racial Formation Theory Overview ................................................................... 46 Ethnicity, Class, and Nationality ....................................................................... 48 Racial Projects ................................................................................................. 49 Critical Responses to Racial Formation Theory ................................................ 50 Racial Formation Theory in my approach ............................................................ 54 Contrasting Macro and Meso ........................................................................... 56 Cross-National Comparative Framework ............................................................. 57 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 60 Chapter Three: Methodology .................................................................................. 63 Chapter Overview ................................................................................................ 63 Setting the Context.............................................................................................. 64 Research Design ................................................................................................. 65 Development of Research Terminology............................................................ 65 Macro-Level and Meso-Level Mixed Racial Projects........................................ 66 Research Sites ................................................................................................. 67 Facet Methodology .......................................................................................... 68 Data Sources ................................................................................................... 71 Mixed Race Discourses .................................................................................... 73 2 Doing the Research ............................................................................................. 75 Census Data Collection and Analysis ............................................................... 75 Mixed Race Organisations Data Collection and Analysis ................................. 79 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 86 Chapter Four: Macro-Level Mixed Race Constructions .......................................... 88 Chapter Overview ................................................................................................ 88 Terminologies ...................................................................................................... 90 “Race” Versus “Ethnicity” ................................................................................ 91 Racialised Categories....................................................................................... 94 Mixed Race: A New Category? .......................................................................... 102 Demographic Information ............................................................................... 106 Areas of Need ................................................................................................ 109 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 115 Chapter Five: Macro-Level and Meso-Level Interactions ...................................... 118 Chapter Overview .............................................................................................. 118 Meso-Level Projects in Racial Formation Theory............................................... 120 Meso-Level Mechanisms of Racialisation .......................................................... 122 External Mechanisms of Mixed Race Construction ........................................... 125 Macro-Level and Meso-Level Interactions......................................................... 131 Great Britain ................................................................................................... 133 USA ................................................................................................................ 140 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 146 Chapter Six: Meso-Level Mixed Race Constructions............................................ 149 Chapter Overview .............................................................................................. 149 Intragroup Mechanisms of Mixed Race Construction ........................................ 150 Constructing Mixed Race .................................................................................. 154 Race: “A sub-group of the human race” ........................................................ 155 Mixedness through Generations .................................................................... 166 “Race is a social construction, but….” ........................................................... 170 “We are all a part of one big human mixed race family….” ............................ 172 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 178 Chapter Seven: Conclusion .................................................................................. 183 Chapter Overview .............................................................................................. 183 Summary of Findings ......................................................................................... 184 Meso-Level Groups: Overlooked but Important ................................................ 186 Mixed-Race: Furthering Race Theorisation ....................................................... 187 3 Cross-National Racial Theorisation ................................................................... 191 Limitations and Further Research ...................................................................... 192 Concluding Comments ...................................................................................... 195 References............................................................................................................ 196 Appendix A ........................................................................................................... 216 United States Census Specimens ..................................................................... 216 England and Wales Census Specimens ............................................................ 217 Appendix B ........................................................................................................... 218 Profiles of Mixed Race Organisations ................................................................ 218 Word Count: 73,248 4 Constructing Mixed Race: Racial Formation in the United States of America and Great Britain Chinelo L. Njaka University of Manchester PhD Sociology 16 December 2016 Abstract The aim of the thesis is to examine contemporary constructions of mixed race in the United States and Britain through the examination of two types of racial projects: the national census and voluntary and community organisations focused on mixed race. Using a combination of critical discourse analysis and qualitative interviews, the research analyses the ways in which mixed race is being described, conceptualised, and constructed through macro- and meso level racial projects