Those who have read Racial Formation in the United States (1986) by Michael Omi and Howard Winant will find in E. San Juan, Jr.’s book an interesting, if not provocative, complement. Both books assert the centrality of race and racism in the social formation of the United States; however, Omi and Winant’s book is grounded in social science whereas San Juan, Jr.’s project is from a literary perspective

Majak, Jonathan A.

English

VCU Scholars Compass

Explorations in Sights and Sounds exclus ively "old" fam i l ies or corporate "branch " executives. This  i s  part icular ly t rue i n  the case  of the "growth machine" created by foreign-born bui lders and developers . A second example of how urban development of Miami  differs from other cit ies l ies in  the c lash  between l ocal and outside corporate control . Wh i le  this  c lash exists in  Miami ,  prol i ferating  local smal l  businesses are owned mostly by i m m igrants,  whi le  the corpo­rate "branch " offices are American-owned . Many of the latter are there not to produce goods for the domestic m arket but rather to sel l  services to other foreigners, often through the mediat ion of the local immigrant-owned fi rms.  Another unique d i fference in Miami i s  that the over lap of paral le l  socia l  systems in  the same physical  space has  given r i se to what the authors describe as " acculturation in reverse" - a process by which foreign customs, inst itutions and language are di ffused within the native popu lation . As a consequence, bicultura l i sm has  emerged as an al ternative adapt ive strategy to ful l  assim i lat ion i nto American culture .  Opponents of bicultura l i sm,  i m m igrants and na­tives a l ike, must either withdraw into their  own ci rcles or exit the community. In conclusion, this book presents a fresh approach to under­standing racial and eth nic  con f1 ict that m ay wel l  play i t se l f  out in  many urban cit ies on  the  edge of the future.  Manue l  Avalos Arizona State Un iversity West E. San Juan, Jr. Racial Fonna tions/Critical Transfonnations: A r­ticulations of Power in Ethnic and Racial Studies ill the Uni ted States. (Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanit ies Press, I n c . ,  1 992)  i x  1 76 pp., $35 .00 cloth . Those who have read Rncinl Fonnntioll in ti le United Stntes ( 1 986) by Michael Omi and Howard Winant wi l l  fi nd i n  E. San j uan ,  j r . 's book an interesti ng, i f  not provocative, complement .  Both  books as ert the cent ral ity of race and racism in  the social format ion of the Un ited tates; however, Omi and Winant 's  book i s  grou nded in  social  science whereas San juan,  j r . 's project i s  from a l i terary perspect ive . Appropriately enough, the first chapter of the book focuses on race and l i terary theory. San juan,  jr .  acknowledges som e  of  the  reforms in  the  canon that  have resulted in  the inc lus ion of l i terary works by people of color. However, he th inks that wh i le such e fforts may have enlarged the parameters of the disci p l i ne, they have not been deepened enough . H e  sees, moreover, a certa in contradict ion in 68 Number 1 4  (Summer 1 994) the fact that the very people who accept the inclusion of non-white texts and who uti lize varieties of Western approaches to i nterpreting and analyzing Black texts resist the idea of Blacks developing their own theories of criticis m .  Such resistance is  a part of what he calls " a new hegemonic strategy . "  S a n  Juan, J r .  sees t h e  s a m e  hegemonic strategy i n  what h e  refers t o  a s  "The C u l t  of Ethnicity a n d  t h e  Fetish of Pluralism"­which is also the title o f  h i s  second chapter. H i s  criticism of the ethnicity paradigm is an i m portant addition to the growing i nterdis­cipl inary critique of that paradigm . The proponents of the ethnicity paradigm, according to San Juan, J r . ,  reduce race to one criterion of ethnicity, thereby avoiding discussions of racism .The author also sees a s imi lar  avoidance i n  the Marxist analysis which, he states, "has always subsumed racial confl icts i nto the class problematic" (42) .  This critique of Marxist  analysis i s  the focus o f  the third chapter. Also i n  this chapter, San Juan, Jr. undertakes a brief critique of Omi and Winant. For example, he faults them for losing sight of the "global picture" with regard to racial aspects of capitalist hegemony­something that is clearly outside the purview of their  book. Further­more, he accuses O m i  and Winant of "absurd wishful  f i l l ing" for declaring that " m inorities h ave achieved significant (though by no means equal) representation i n  the political system . "  I n  a l l  fairness t o  Omi and Win ant, they m a ke that statement in their assessment of contemporary changes in the racial order in the United States . These changes, they point out, h ave been brought about by, among other thi ngs, m i nority-based m ovements that challenged the domi n an t  racial i deology. These chal lenges h ave led to the development of new "rules of the game . "  They acknowledge, however, that these new rules also "contain both the legacy of movement efforts to rearticulate the m eaning of race and to mobil ize minorities polit ically on the basis of new ideologies thus achieved, and the h er itage of deep-seated racism and i nequal ity" (Omi and Winant, 83) .  C hapter four, entitled " H egemony a n d  Resistance: A Critique of Modernist and Postmodernist Cultural Theory of Ethnic Studies , "  i s  t h e  longest chapter in the book and is  divided into seven parts . I n  this cha pter, S a n  Juan, J r .  exam i nes various counterhegemonic ef­forts ( reSistances?) i n  cultural studies.  These efforts, accordi ng to him, discount race and elevate ethnicity.  Some theorists, l ike Werner Sollors, go a step further by attempting to expunge the term "ethnicity" itself from critical vocabulary. The end result is  a return to normalcy of a hegemonic Eurocentrism. "Beyond Identity Politics" is the tit le of the fifth chapter, which is  the second longest of the book. Here, San juan, J r .  focuses on the predicament of the Asian American writer i n  general and on the 69 Explorations in Sights and Sounds Fi l ipino American writer i n  particu lar .  I t  i s  h is  opin ion that  the As ian American writer has been l eft out  in  the questioning of the Eurocentric canon by fem in ists and other people of color, especia l ly African Americans , Ch icanos, and Am erican I ndians .  This  predicament may be attributed to a number  of factors, foremost amongst them i s  the diversity of groups class ified as  Asian Americans .  Secondly, accordi ng to the author, a l though Asian Americans are now being touted i n  the media as "a model m inority, " they nonetheless have been marginal ized by "state-orda ined jur idical  exclusion s . "  This  h istory of exclus ion has  been described by others,  but  more competently by Ronald Takaki in  Strnl lgers from ( /  Differel lt  Shore ( 1 989) .  1 evertheless,  San Juan ,  J r .  worries that  Takaki has art icul ated "the hegemonic doctr ine  of  acquis i t ive/possessive l ibera l i sm as the  informing principle  of As ian American l ives" ( 1 0 1 ) , and,  whether or not  he intended it ,  ends up  v indicating the American Dream.  As  for the F i l ipino  American writer, he i s  i n  the  same predica­ment for the same reasons as other Asian American writers and for others unique to the F i l ip ino American experience. San Juan ,  J r . ' s  recommendation t o  F i l i p ino American writers, as  wel l  a s  other Asian American writers, is ,  ideal ly, to undertake a cr it ique of hegemony before exploring racial or ethnic  identity .  F ina l ly, in  the a fterward San Juan ,  J r .  assesses the  prospects for cultural  diverSity, racia l  pol it iCS ,  and ethnic studies in the twenty­first century. He sees, as  far as eth nic studies i s  concerned, a n  "emanci patory project " o f  theoret ica l  and pract ical  deconstruction of the hegemoniC rule founded on normative p lura l i sm.  By way of conclUS ion,  let me  state that this  book i s  an invaluable addit ion to a growing body of theoretical works in  ethnic studies.  One sign i ficant but l ess  substantive weakness of the book i s  San Juan,  J r . ' s  rather  excessive use  of postmodernist  (he  may cal l  i t  language of  contem porary crit ical  theory) vocabula ry that  not  on ly  undercuts the book's ut i l ity to a non-spec ia l ist reader, but a l so m akes him seen interested in language games .  70 Jonathan A.  Majak  Un iversi ty of Wisconsin - La Crosse 

[Review of] E. San Juan, Jr. Racial Formations/Critical Transformations: Articulations of Power in Ethnic and Racial Studies in the United States

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[Review of] E. San Juan, Jr. Racial Formations/Critical Transformations: Articulations of Power in Ethnic and Racial Studies in the United States

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