''Reworking Race: The Making of Hawaii's Interracial Labor Movement'' is a 2006 book by Moon-Kie Jung on Hawaii's shift from a conservative

oligopoly An oligopoly (from Greek ὀλίγος, ''oligos'' "few" and πωλεῖν, ''polein'' "to sell") is a market structure in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of large sellers or producers. Oligopolies often result from ...

to one of the most progressive parts of the United States.

Reception

Jose M. Alamillo credits Jung's "sound research, crisp narrative, and innovative reworking of the concept of 'interracialism'" in his review for ''

The American Historical Review ''The American Historical Review'' is a quarterly academic history journal and the official publication of the American Historical Association. It targets readers interested in all periods and facets of history and has often been described as the ...

''. Alamillo says that "Jung effectively rescues the concept of 'interracialism' from scholars whose exclusive focus on its negative dimensions overlooks its 'affirmative transformation of race." Though Alamillo notes a lack of focus on women, gender, and relations beyond the workplace, he suggests that Jung's work remains quite strong in how it "helps us understand how an interracial labor movement helped make Hawaii into one of the most progressive states in the country." John H. M. Laslett says in his review for the ''

Journal of American Ethnic History A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

'' that "Moon-Kie Jung's book makes a major contribution to the ongoing debate about the nature and sources of American working-class solidarity," highlighting the book's "carefully researched" nature and Jung's "persuasive case for his 'fusion argument.'" Laslett mentions a few "minor weaknesses." First, he notes that Jung's argument "may not be quite as original as he claims" given that "

Robin Kelley Robin Davis Gibran Kelley (born March 14, 1962) is an American historian and academic, who is the Gary B. Nash Professor of American History at UCLA. From 2006 to 2011, he was Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Sout ...

, Tomas Almaguer, and

Alexander Saxton Alexander Plaisted Saxton (July 16, 1919 – August 20, 2012) was an American historian, novelist, and university professor. He was the author of the pioneering '' Indispensable Enemy'' (1975), one of the founding texts in Asian American studie ...

have made similar points about race, class, and labor struggles." Second, Laslett argues that, though Jung says that the arguments about Hawaii's racial cohesion apply to other contexts, Jung "makes no references to situations in which race and class--or gender--loyalties continued to remain in conflict." Third, Laslett argues that "Jung's study is also a bit too narrowly focused on racial and class tensions in the workplace to be entirely persuasive."

Awards

''Reworking Race'' won a variety of awards from the

American Sociological Association The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fif ...

(ASA). Jung's 2003 paper "Interracialism: The Ideological Transformation of Hawaii's Working Class", later integrated into the book, won the ASA's 2004 Honorable Mention for the Labor and Labor Movements' Distinguished Scholarly Article Award. In 2007, the book was the ASA's Outstanding Contribution to Political Sociology. In 2008, the book won the ASA's Book Award.{{cite web , title=ASA Annual Meetings , url=https://www.asanet.org/asa-communities/sections/sites/asia-and-asian-america/asa-annual-meetings , publisher=American Sociological Association , access-date=10 April 2020 , language=en , date=2 August 2013

References

2006 non-fiction books Books about Hawaii Books about labor history Sociology books