The History of White People
 First Edition | |
| Author | Nell Irvin Painter |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Published | 2010 |
| Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 496 |
| ISBN | 978-0393049343 |
The History of White People is a 2010 book by Nell Irvin Painter. In it, Painter explores the idea of whiteness throughout history, beginning with ancient Greece and continuing through the beginning of scientific racism in early modern Europe to 19th- through 21st-century America.
Overview
Among the topics Painter discusses are the way in which formerly non-white groups were designated as white as they assimilated into American life, the racialization of intelligence and of political beliefs, and the relationship between race and conceptions of female beauty. Ralph Waldo Emerson is one figure whose belief in some of these racial theories is discussed.[1][2][3]
“The History of White People” is Nell Irvin Painter's seventh book. Linda Gordon from The New York Times wrote, “The title of this book is literally accurate, because the book traces characterizations of the lighter-skinned people we call white today”.[1] This book tells the history of white race theory and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s contribution. Chapter ten is dedicated to The Education of Ralph Waldo Emerson and the influence his Aunt Mary Moody Emerson (1774-1863) had on his education after the death of his father Reverend William Emerson. Aunt Mary introduced German romanticism and had great enthusiasm for the 1814 American edition of de Stael’s On Germany which was introduced to Emerson during his years of formal education. From the mid-1830s into the 1840s, transcendentalism (the American version of German romanticism) thrived in New England. In 1836, Emerson borrowed from transcendentalism’s emphasis on nature as a “spiritual force” to complete his essay Nature.[4]
References
- 1 2 Gordon, Linda (March 25, 2010). "Who's White?". The New York Times.
- ↑ Devlin, Paul (March 28, 2010). "'The History of White People'". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ↑ Sanneh, Kelefa (April 12, 2010). "Beyond the Pale". The New Yorker.
- ↑ Painter, Nell Irvin (2010). The History of White People. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.