Description:

Tropes of Intolerance is a Baedeker of bigotry, a short  course on xenophobic racism and populist nationalism, both enduring threats to the social fabric. In addition to examining the nature of pride and prejudice and expressions of hate, special attention is paid to extremists and their appeal to those feeling estranged in a rapidly changing society.  While a central focus is on The Age of Trump and the President’s role in exacerbating polarizing particularism, consideration is also given to two malignant ideologies: resurgent anti-Semitism and the rise of Islamophobia.

Reviews on Tropes of Intolerance

In Tropes of Intolerance, Peter Rose lays out a compelling and intense review of the fear and hatred of the “other” that has existed in human history for millennia. He brings this ages-old phenomenon into present times and uses the persona of Donald Trump and the people who surrounded him during his administration as exemplars of these ancient, negative attitudes and actions.

Rose’s broad-scope framework puts current destructive stances regarding race, ethnicity, and gender into a context that allows us – actually forces us – to step back and ask, “what do we do now?”

It would be wonderful to see this book become a catalyst for a coming together of people who value and respect differences. The enormous, daunting task is to figure out how to mitigate long-standing, damaging human behaviors. Unhappily, it feels like an almost unachievable goal. But…huge thanks to Peter Rose for setting the challenge out before us.

—Marian Leah Knapp, Ph.D. is a writer, community activist, and author of Prohibition Wine

“Tropes of Intolerance is timely and trenchant. Peter Rose, who has written prolifically on these themes for more than half a century, aptly likens it to a short course on racist nationalism and nativism. He deftly examines their rebirth and polarizing effects in the age of Trump and the enduring threat to democracy’s social fabric.”

—Rubén G. Rumbaut, Distinguished Professor of Sociology,
University of California, Irvine

“In this timely book, renowned sociologist Peter Rose explores the racism, xenophobia and bigotry that have long plagued American society and are particularly characteristic of the divisive and troubling Trump Era…This book is a must-read for those wanting to combat expressions of intolerance… ”

—Damian Pargas, Professor of American History, Leiden University

“In this small volume consisting of six closely intertwined essays Peter Rose provides a succinct record of the many struggles to create ‘out of many, one’, as stipulated by the founders. In doing so he leaves no doubt that to him the MAGA mobilization and the politics of fear that he quotes in the title indicate the relapse into a social disease which has been plaguing the United States from its inception: the self-inflicted iniquity of racism and white supremacy. ”

—Jochen Fried, Director, Global Citizenship Alliance

“In these times when any given day’s news is likely to leave us feeling hopeless, Professor Rose has offered up quite a gift. Such an expansive survey of intolerance— in so many forms, over such a long time—brings invaluable perspective.”

—Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini, prize-winning filmmakers of Well-Founded Fear and How Democracy Works Now

“In his powerful narrative Peter Rose traces the historical evolution of the politics of exclusion and the marshalling of fear toward those who are different… His short course on xenophobic racism and its expression is both bracing and galvanizing.”

—Jenny Moore, Professor of Law, University of New Mexico School of Law