Ralph J. Perk, the “New ethnicity”, and the making of urban ethnic republicans

Historians seeking to explain the late twentieth century rightward shift of urban ethnic whites have tended to ignore the shifting meaning and content of white ethnic identity in this transition, and the utility of these changes to conservative political discourse. This article, focusing on the ethn...

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Main Author: Merton, Joe
Format: Article
Published: Cambridge University Press 2017
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46781/
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author Merton, Joe
author_facet Merton, Joe
author_sort Merton, Joe
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description Historians seeking to explain the late twentieth century rightward shift of urban ethnic whites have tended to ignore the shifting meaning and content of white ethnic identity in this transition, and the utility of these changes to conservative political discourse. This article, focusing on the ethnic strategies of the Republican mayor of Cleveland, Ralph Perk, seeks to illustrate the importance of the “New Ethnicity” of the 1970s, and its reconceptualization of white ethnicity as a series of “values”, in the making of urban ethnic Republicans. In doing so it reorients our understanding of Perk – the “Ethnic Mayor” – and places ethnicity at the heart of the conservative insurgency reshaping urban and national politics during this period.
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spelling nottingham-467812020-05-04T19:21:08Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46781/ Ralph J. Perk, the “New ethnicity”, and the making of urban ethnic republicans Merton, Joe Historians seeking to explain the late twentieth century rightward shift of urban ethnic whites have tended to ignore the shifting meaning and content of white ethnic identity in this transition, and the utility of these changes to conservative political discourse. This article, focusing on the ethnic strategies of the Republican mayor of Cleveland, Ralph Perk, seeks to illustrate the importance of the “New Ethnicity” of the 1970s, and its reconceptualization of white ethnicity as a series of “values”, in the making of urban ethnic Republicans. In doing so it reorients our understanding of Perk – the “Ethnic Mayor” – and places ethnicity at the heart of the conservative insurgency reshaping urban and national politics during this period. Cambridge University Press 2017-12-04 Article PeerReviewed Merton, Joe (2017) Ralph J. Perk, the “New ethnicity”, and the making of urban ethnic republicans. Journal of American Studies . ISSN 1469-5154 Ethnicity; Cleveland; Conservatism; Race; Ralph Perk https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-american-studies/article/ralph-j-perk-the-new-ethnicity-and-the-making-of-urban-ethnic-republicans/516A3FE9DCDD4EF10405B39335220D73 doi:10.1017/S0021875817001803 doi:10.1017/S0021875817001803
spellingShingle Ethnicity; Cleveland; Conservatism; Race; Ralph Perk
Merton, Joe
Ralph J. Perk, the “New ethnicity”, and the making of urban ethnic republicans
title Ralph J. Perk, the “New ethnicity”, and the making of urban ethnic republicans
title_full Ralph J. Perk, the “New ethnicity”, and the making of urban ethnic republicans
title_fullStr Ralph J. Perk, the “New ethnicity”, and the making of urban ethnic republicans
title_full_unstemmed Ralph J. Perk, the “New ethnicity”, and the making of urban ethnic republicans
title_short Ralph J. Perk, the “New ethnicity”, and the making of urban ethnic republicans
title_sort ralph j. perk, the “new ethnicity”, and the making of urban ethnic republicans
topic Ethnicity; Cleveland; Conservatism; Race; Ralph Perk
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46781/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46781/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/46781/