Communicating Racism

Ethnic Prejudice in Thought and Talk

How does everyday talk contribute to the spread and acceptance of ethnic prejudice? Communicating Racism is a revealing interdisciplinary study of ethnic prejudices and the ways in which they are diffused through interpersonal communication and intergroup interaction.

In this clearly written and comprehensive study, van Dijk establishes a crucial link between the cognitive, social and communicative dimensions of racism. He examines: the social psychology of ethnic attitudes; the cognitive psychology of ethnic prejudice; and the social context of prejudice; the interpersonal communication of racism.

By analysing informal discourse and the reproduction of racism within the white majority, the author offers us a new understanding of many deep-rooted and poorly understood patterns of prejudice.