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The History of White People
The History of White People | Nell Irvin Painter
A New York Times bestseller: This terrific new book . . . [explores] the notion of whiteness, an idea as dangerous as it is seductive.Boston Globe Telling perhaps the most important forgotten story in American history, eminent historian Nell Irvin Painter guides us through more than two thousand years of Western civilization, illuminating not only the invention of race but also the frequent praise of whiteness for economic, scientific, and political ends. A story filled with towering historical figures, The History of White People closes a huge gap in literature that has long focused on the non-white and forcefully reminds us that the concept of race is an all-too-human invention whose meaning, importance, and reality have changed as it has been driven by a long and rich history of events.
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tphil10283
The History of White People | Nell Irvin Painter
Pickpick

This is a very interesting analysis of bigotry focusing on the various ways white people have been bigoted towards white peoples.

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Plaidsticks
The History of White People | Nell Irvin Painter
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Pickpick

An interesting read, especially in the light of immigration and the constant need for superiority and othering (brought to mind The Origin of Others by Toni Morrison as a companion read). Multiple listens required to retain it all better.

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Annacferg
The History of White People | Nell Irvin Painter

“President Clinton closed his remarks in 2000 with an unequivocal statement: ‘in genetic terms all human beings, regardless of race, are more than 99.9 percent the same. What that means is that modern science has confirmed what we first learned from ancient faiths. The most important fact of life on this earth is our common humanity.‘”

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Annacferg
The History of White People | Nell Irvin Painter
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Born Malcolm Little, Malcolm X joined the Nation of Islam in 1952- “Members of the NOI exchanged their “slave names” for “X,” which stood for the loss of their unknown African families and names.” - I‘m shook. This is so powerful.

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Annacferg
The History of White People | Nell Irvin Painter
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“What we can see depends heavily on what our culture has trained us to look for.”

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anrobe
The History of White People | Nell Irvin Painter
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Wow! Such a thorough exploration of whiteness. If you‘re interested in social justice and better understanding race, this is a great one to pick up. Not an easy read but so rewarding. Not a dry book but very detailed and thought provoking.

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anrobe
The History of White People | Nell Irvin Painter
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Learning so much as I work my way through this one! As I continue to add to the social justice books I‘m focusing on reading, I think this has been a great book to start with.

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volatilestatic
The History of White People | Nell Irvin Painter
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TFW you make it halfway through a book but it takes forever and it's due back at the library but you really want to finish it soooooo....Chapter 14. Will resume later.

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volatilestatic
The History of White People | Nell Irvin Painter
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#readathon totals:

-9 completed books
-1 half-finished book
- 1,839 pages
-many snacks
-0 chores

The History of White People is the only one I didn't finish. There were a few others that I didn't get to, but overall, it was a great success!

TheLibrarian Great job! 👏🏻 8y
4 likes2 comments
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Santiago
The History of White People | Nell Irvin Painter
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A masterwork mapping the concept of "Caucasian" from its Greek roots, through the European "scholars" fetishizing skulls (you THINK I'm making this up), through the scholars and scientists working to debunk "race" as a category with any root in biology Some of the best parts are a TAD America-centric, but I can SO forgive that. Read to truly understand why Coates refers to "the people who must believe they are white." Good narrator on audio, too.

6 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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SubwayBookReview
The History of White People | Nell Irvin Painter
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Luke: "Ultimately, I believe in preservation through transformation - that's a quote from 'The New Jim Crow'. That book got me reading. When I was young I was stupid and ignorant. Now I'm still young but I try my best to not be ignorant."

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