Ethnic Identity: The Transformation of White America

This landmark work examines the changing role of ethnicity in the lives of Amerians from a broad range of European backgrounds. Using data from in-depth interviews with more than five hundred people, Richard D. Alba shows that while the ethnic origins of white Americans have less and less import in such measurable areas as educational and occupational achievement and marriage, they are still salient in more subjective ways. He identifies the emergence a new ethnic group of "European Americans" that differentiates itself from racial minorities and immigrant groups from Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.