Race, Biopower, and the Negative Dialectic

This book presents a synthesis of ideas from Critical
Theory, Postcolonialism, and Poststructuralism.
Through the application of negative dialectics,
issues in Indo-American cultural assimilation
(primarily post-1965 immigration to the United
States) are explored. Hybridity, and the multiple
manifestations of selves and subjectivity, are
analyzed through the lens of Foucault''s notion of
biopower and Nietzsche''s critiques of Christianity.
Issues of ''bad faith'' and ''false consciousness'' are
linked to race, class, gender, sexuality, nation, and
religion. Ultimately, philosophical concepts are
amplified by site-specific ethnographic research
conducted amongst Indian and Indo-American men and
women. The book is, simultaneously, a critique and an
affirmation of ideas such as ''Model Minority'' and
''The American Dream.''

Autorentext
Nikhil Thakur received his PhD from the California Institute of Integral Studies. For the past 10 years, he has been doing anthropological research in issues around cultural assimilation and he has been a lecturer of philosophy in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Klappentext
This book presents a synthesis of ideas from Critical Theory, Postcolonialism, and Poststructuralism. Through the application of negative dialectics, issues in Indo-American cultural assimilation (primarily post-1965 immigration to the United States) are explored. Hybridity, and the multiple manifestations of selves and subjectivity, are analyzed through the lens of Foucault's notion of biopower and Nietzsche's critiques of Christianity. Issues of 'bad faith' and 'false consciousness' are linked to race, class, gender, sexuality, nation, and religion. Ultimately, philosophical concepts are amplified by site-specific ethnographic research conducted amongst Indian and Indo-American men and women. The book is, simultaneously, a critique and an affirmation of ideas such as 'Model Minority' and 'The American Dream.'