Wow! eBook
The Protestant Ethnic and the Spirit of Capitalism
Author(s): Rey Chow (Author)
- Publisher: Columbia University Press
- Publication Date: 6 Dec. 2002
- Language: English
- Print length: 250 pages
- ISBN-10: 023112421X
- ISBN-13: 9780231124218
Book Description
The notion of ethnicity as it is currently used is theoretically ambivalent, confusing, indeed self-contradictory, according to Rey Chow. To radically reconceptualize the ways ethnicity functions in capitalist society, Chow proposes that it be analyzed in conjunction with Max Weber's famous theory about the protestant work ethic, especially in terms of the economic and psychological, as well as the religious-spiritual, ramifications of the word "protest." In her reading of the politics of ethnicity, she examines a diverse set of texts, works of Foucault, Weber, Derrida, Balibar, Brontë, Asian-American authors Hongo and Yau; films of Hitchcock, Duras, and Resnais; and the drawings of Hong Kong cartoonist Larry Feign.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Chow's discussion of the concept of 'ethnicity' in a late-capitalist Western society presents a creatively refreshing perspective on the contradictions and conflicts of this taken-for-granted concept.
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism... should challenge others who have long studied race and ethnic relations.--Susan R. Takata "International Migration Review"There is nothing
consolatory...one is faced simply with the imperative to think harder and better about the problems that face back from the surface of the world.--Eric Hayot "Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews"
