Caste : the origins of our discontents

Author

Isabel Wilkerson

Call Number

• 305.5122 W681 (CEN, EAS, OSH, WSQ)

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Edition

First edition.

Publication Information

New York : Random House, [2020]

Physical Description

xvii, 476 pages ; 25 cm

Summary

The hierarchy of caste is not about feelings or morality. It is about power-- which groups have it and which do not. Wilkerson explores how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. She discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity.

Notes

"Oprah's book club, 2020."

Contents

• The man in the crowd
• Toxins in the permafrost and heat rising all around
• The arbitrary construction of human divisions
• The eight pillars of caste
• The tentacles of caste
• The consequences of caste
• Backlash
• Awakening
• Epilogue: A world without caste.