Understanding Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality

Book excerpt: Understanding Race, Class, Gender, & Sexuality: A Conceptual Framework, Second Edition, is the only text that develops a theoretical framework for the analysis of intersectionality. Weber argues that these social systems are historically and geographically contextual power relationships that are simultaneously expressed and experienced at both the macro level of social institutions and the micro level of individual lives and small groups. This is also the only text that teaches students how to apply the theory to their own analyses. Originally published in its first edition as two separate books, the second edition integrates the main text and the case studies into one volume. As in the previous edition, Weber uses education as an extended example to show students how to conduct a race, class, gender, and sexuality analysis. With completely updated data, this edition adds important new research in sexuality, globalization, and education. It also features new case studies, including one on Hurricane Katrina and another on the 2008 Presidential election. Understanding Race, Class, Gender, & Sexuality: A Conceptual Framework, Second Edition, can be used in a variety of courses: in social inequality, communication, women's and gender studies, ethnic studies, American studies, sociology, political science, human services, and public health.