Brown Threat

Identification in the Security State

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Minority Studies, Discrimination & Race Relations, Popular Culture
Cover of the book Brown Threat by Kumarini Silva, University of Minnesota Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Kumarini Silva ISBN: 9781452952550
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press Publication: November 1, 2016
Imprint: Univ Of Minnesota Press Language: English
Author: Kumarini Silva
ISBN: 9781452952550
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
Publication: November 1, 2016
Imprint: Univ Of Minnesota Press
Language: English

What is “brown” in—and beyond—the context of American identity politics? How has the concept changed since 9/11? In the most sustained examination of these questions to date, Kumarini Silva argues that “brown” is no longer conceived of solely as a cultural, ethnic, or political identity. Instead, after 9/11, the Patriot Act, and the wars in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, it has also become a concept and, indeed, a strategy of identification—one rooted in xenophobic, imperialistic, and racist ideologies to target those who do not neatly fit or subscribe to ideas of nationhood. 

Interweaving personal narratives, ethnographic research, analyses of popular events like the Miss America pageant, and films and TV shows such as the Harold and Kumar franchise and Black-ish, Silva maps junctures where the ideological, political, and mediated terrain intersect, resulting in an appetite for all things “brown” (especially South Asian brown) by U.S. consumers, while political and nationalist discourses and legal structures (immigration, emigration, migration, outsourcing, incarceration) conspire to control brown bodies both within and outside the United States. 

Silva explores this contradictory relationship between representation and reality, arguing that the representation mediates and manages the anxieties that come from contemporary global realities, in which brown spaces, like India, Pakistan, and the Middle East pose key economic, security, and political challenges to the United States. While racism is hardly new, what makes this iteration of brown new is that anyone or any group, at any time, can be branded as deviant, as a threat. 

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

What is “brown” in—and beyond—the context of American identity politics? How has the concept changed since 9/11? In the most sustained examination of these questions to date, Kumarini Silva argues that “brown” is no longer conceived of solely as a cultural, ethnic, or political identity. Instead, after 9/11, the Patriot Act, and the wars in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, it has also become a concept and, indeed, a strategy of identification—one rooted in xenophobic, imperialistic, and racist ideologies to target those who do not neatly fit or subscribe to ideas of nationhood. 

Interweaving personal narratives, ethnographic research, analyses of popular events like the Miss America pageant, and films and TV shows such as the Harold and Kumar franchise and Black-ish, Silva maps junctures where the ideological, political, and mediated terrain intersect, resulting in an appetite for all things “brown” (especially South Asian brown) by U.S. consumers, while political and nationalist discourses and legal structures (immigration, emigration, migration, outsourcing, incarceration) conspire to control brown bodies both within and outside the United States. 

Silva explores this contradictory relationship between representation and reality, arguing that the representation mediates and manages the anxieties that come from contemporary global realities, in which brown spaces, like India, Pakistan, and the Middle East pose key economic, security, and political challenges to the United States. While racism is hardly new, what makes this iteration of brown new is that anyone or any group, at any time, can be branded as deviant, as a threat. 

More books from University of Minnesota Press

Cover of the book The Social Project by Kumarini Silva
Cover of the book A Foray into the Worlds of Animals and Humans by Kumarini Silva
Cover of the book The Changs Next Door to the Díazes by Kumarini Silva
Cover of the book Flames of Discontent by Kumarini Silva
Cover of the book The Durable Slum by Kumarini Silva
Cover of the book Architecture since 1400 by Kumarini Silva
Cover of the book A Good Investment? by Kumarini Silva
Cover of the book The Uberfication of the University by Kumarini Silva
Cover of the book The Deadly Life of Logistics by Kumarini Silva
Cover of the book Indirect Action by Kumarini Silva
Cover of the book Extravagances by Kumarini Silva
Cover of the book The Microbial State by Kumarini Silva
Cover of the book At the Borders of Sleep by Kumarini Silva
Cover of the book Veer Ecology by Kumarini Silva
Cover of the book The Anti-Black City by Kumarini Silva
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy