The social construction of racism: The case of second generation Bangladeshis

This paper examines, the ways in which a group of middle class second gener ation Bangladeshi adults construct and account for their experiences of rac ism. Using a discursive analysis of tape recorded conversations, the study shows how various discursive practices construct racism in participant's de scriptions of racist experiences, and how these constructions serve particu lar functions. For instance, the discourses of an 'improved present' and 'r acism as present but hidden' are identified. In these discourses, I argue, racism is constructed as a problem of the past and therefore only a compara tively minor problem at present, or as present phenomenon, but manifesting itself in more subtle covert forms. I argue that these discourses may be co nsidered as problematic in that they can be seen as potentially sustaining and perpetuating particular kinds of social relations. What I also wish to argue is that this kind of analysis demonstrates the need for a theorizatio n of the subject. In this case, the need for racism to be understood from t he perspective of these middle class second generation Bangladeshis. Copyri ght (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.