The Reeducation of Race: Jewishness and the Politics of Antiracism in Postcolonial Thought

World War II brought attention to racism and the need for racial reeducation. UNESCO's 1950 Statement on Race redefined the race concept and established the midcentury liberal antiracist consensus. This book explores how UNESCO's race project influenced anticolonial thought and made Jewish difference and the Holocaust enduring concerns for anticolonial and postcolonial writers. It argues that anticolonial thought and postcolonial literature recast liberal scientific antiracism and that the concepts central to this new moral economy shaped postcolonialism's engagement with Jewishness.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 27 October 2023
Publisher: Stanford University Press

World War II brought about a significant transformation in the realm of modern racial discourse. Following the war, racism emerged as a central issue in international politics, challenging the established notion of race as a conceptual framework for colonial rule. In response to this crisis, the United Nations (UN) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) initiated a project aimed at promoting racial reeducation. This global antiracist campaign was framed by the persecution of Europe's Jews and anchored by UNESCO's landmark 1950 Statement on Race, which redefined the concept of race and solidified the liberal antiracist consensus that continues to shape our contemporary world.

In her book, Sonali Thakkar explores the profound impact of UNESCO's race project on anticolonial thought and the enduring relevance of Jewish difference and the Holocaust in the context of anticolonial and postcolonial literature. Thakkar utilizes UNESCO's extensive archival resources to provide fresh interpretations of a diverse range of texts from the postcolonial, Jewish, and Black diasporic traditions. Through her analysis, Thakkar argues that anticolonial thought and postcolonial literature critically reevaluated the principles of liberal scientific antiracism, leading to the development of new concepts that shaped postcolonialism's engagement with Jewishness.

By tracing these connections, Thakkar reveals how the midcentury crisis of racial meaning shaped the formation of solidarities between racialized subjects that are possible today. Her book offers valuable insights into the complex interplay between race, power, and identity, shedding light on the enduring legacies of World War II and the ongoing struggle for racial justice and equality.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781503637337