INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE: Expectations and Realities

by Irving R. & Lawrence E. Abt -- Eds. Stuart ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1972

Interracial marriage usually implies, at least for American readers, black-white relations; and, while that is the emphasis of this group of eighteen essays (all but one commissioned for the volume -- a welcome respite from the reprint mill), there is an effort to consider the subject more fully via articles on miscegenation in Brazil, Cuba, Hawaii, Japan, and between whites and North American Indians. The contributors, most of whom are young academics or working professionals in one of the social sciences, avoid bias on the pros and cons of interracial unions, though all who speak about them conclude that such marriages are increasing and will continue to do so, and thus require more serious study, both theoretically and empirically. For instance, Robert Merton's exchange theory of marital choice between blacks and whites (originally published in 1941) is challenged as erroneous by James Bruce and Dr. Hyman Rodman in their ""Black-White Marriages in the United States: A Review of the Empirical Literature"" and seen only as a ""step in the right direction"" by Professor Bernard Murstein in his paper, probably the most formidable contribution to the collection. The usual subtopics are covered -- children, dating, family conflicts, taboos, racial myths -- as well as some not ordinarily discussed (transracial adoption). Students -- the natural audience -- will find this helpful. Stuart and Abt have also co-edited Children of Separation and Divorce.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1972

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Grossman

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1972

Categories: NONFICTION