Race and Ethnicity in Latin America, 2nd edition
Peter Wade
2010, Pluto Press
215 pages
WADE’S Race and Ethnicity in Latin America is an essential text in the study of a complex and diverse region but, like so many other textbooks and thanks to the nature of publishing, has not been updated as frequently as it should. One reason may be that Wade has been so busy, bringing us Race, Nation and Culture (2002) and Race and Sex in Latin America (2009), both also published by Pluto. This second, updated edition of Race and Ethnicity in Latin America, therefore, offers a welcome and valuable edition to the course lists of students of Latin America. It brings new material to the study of identity, which has emerged as among the most prominent themes in the politics of the region as democracy gives a new voice to the disempowered and the dispossessed. Wade explores changing perspectives on Indian and black populations and the ways these groups are understood and depicted by national elites and academics themselves. Importantly, he re-examines the concepts of race and ethnicity themselves to assess their usefulness in a world in which identity politics shifts rapidly according to social and cultural change. – GJ
