Shifting Paradigms

Abstract

Paradigms allow people to understand the world from various viewpoints, target specific audiences, define problems of study and methodological directives, and imply solutions in the real world. This article provides a brief history of theories of race and race relations, noting that racial paradigms in mainstream sociology have rarely been displaced by radically different ones. Until the 1960s, “new” paradigms appeared as repackaged perspectives with the same background assumptions. In this work, the authors juxtapose the viewpoints of social theorists writing from within the accepted (White “malestream”) canon against the writings of some who until recently have been excluded from the traditional canon. Reading theories from margin to center allows one to rethink the important features of a Black race paradigm that challenges prevailing theories and their background assumptions. This paradigm is characterized by democratic rhetoric, systematic research, and a call for social reform.