Hyphened-Nation author Nicole Draffen talks racism & box-ticking in American Government & Culture
Manage episode 429685471 series 2358856
Links
Hyphened-Nation (UK Amazon Link)
https://amzn.to/3gfEfrr
https://amzn.to/3ikxMxn (US Amazon Link)
The United States of America is perhaps the only country in the world which places its citizens into an ethnic classification by hyphenating them. Think African-American, Spanish-American or Japanese-American and you get the picture.
We have allowed ourselves to be classified in this way, like it's something that is important.
Hyphened-Nation was inspired by the author's travels overseas. In particular, her time living in the United Kingdom opened her eyes to the huge differences in American and European culture.
Being treated as simply a pure American, rather than as a hyphenated one, led her to an epiphany, to write this illuminating book on the subject and to ask the question; why does the United States hyphenate its citizens by ethnicity before nationality?
With a critical analysis of how this hyphenation serves to limit economic, educational, societal, and cultural growth, the book also examines how to overcome this way of thinking and build bridges for the future.
200 episod