In the Shadow of Race

Abstract

My father's father was Filipino-Chinese... My father's mother was African American-Native American... My mother's father was German-Danish... My mother's mother was German... I was born in Brooklyn, New York, but I grew up in Japan... For once it's not just black and white. In this compelling chronicle of his journey through life as a multicultural and multiethnic American, Teja Arboleda uniquely and personally challenges institutionalized notions of race, culture, ethnicity, and class. Arboleda has presented his story around the United States through his one-man performance-lecture Ethnic Man! Now, in this book, he fleshes out the depth of his experience as a culturally and racially mixed American, illustrating throughout the enigma of cultural and racial identity and the American identity crisis. To facilitate its use as a course text, In the Shadow of Race is offered with a Teacher's Guide written by Christine Clark. Topics for discussion include: * the social construction of race; * racial separatism vs. diversity; * racial, ethnic, and cultural identity development; * the politics of racial categorization; * mixed "race" peoples; * cultural identity vs. identity by heritage; * the concept of a "cultural home;" and * changing identities within cultures.