The Diversity Bargain
And Other Dilemmas of Race, Admissions, and Meritocracy at Elite Universities
The Diversity Bargain
And Other Dilemmas of Race, Admissions, and Meritocracy at Elite Universities
What Warikoo uncovers—talking with both white students and students of color at Harvard, Brown, and Oxford—is absolutely illuminating; and some of it is positively shocking. As she shows, many elite white students understand the value of diversity abstractly, but they ignore the real problems that racial inequality causes and that diversity programs are meant to solve. They stand in fear of being labeled a racist, but they are quick to call foul should a diversity program appear at all to hamper their own chances for advancement. The most troubling result of this ambivalence is what she calls the “diversity bargain,” in which white students reluctantly agree with affirmative action as long as it benefits them by providing a diverse learning environment—racial diversity, in this way, is a commodity, a selling point on a brochure. And as Warikoo shows, universities play a big part in creating these situations. The way they talk about race on campus and the kinds of diversity programs they offer have a huge impact on student attitudes, shaping them either toward ambivalence or, in better cases, toward more productive and considerate understandings of racial difference.
Ultimately, this book demonstrates just how slippery the notions of race, merit, and privilege can be. In doing so, it asks important questions not just about college admissions but what the elite students who have succeeded at it—who will be the world’s future leaders—will do with the social inequalities of the wider world.
Read the Introduction.
320 pages | 8 tables | 6 x 9 | © 2016
Education: Comparative Education, Education--Economics, Law, Politics, Higher Education
Reviews
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Beliefs about Meritocracy and Race
American Students
2 Making Sense of Race
3 The University Influence
4 Merit and the Diversity Bargain
5 The Moral Imperatives of Diversity
British Students
6 Race Frames and Merit at Oxford
7 Race, Racism, and “Playing the Race Card” at Oxford
Conclusion
Appendix A: Respondent Characteristics and Race Frames
Appendix B: A Note on Methods
Appendix C: Interview Questions
Notes
Index
Awards
American Educational Studies Association: AESA Critics' Choice Book Award
Won
Society for the Study of Social Problems, Racial and Ethnic Minorities Division: Eduardo Bonilla-Silva Book Award
Honorable Mention
ASA Racial and Ethnic Minorities Section: Oliver Cromwell Cox Book Award
Honorable Mention
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