Includes bibliographical references and index.

An introduction to the study of minority groups in the United States. Diversity in the United States : questions and concepts -- Assimilation and pluralism : from immigrants to white ethics -- Prejudice and discrimination -- The evolution of dominant-minority relations in the United States. The development of dominant-minority group relations in preindustrial America : the origins of slavery -- Industrialization and dominant-minority relations : from slavery to segregation and the coming of postindustrial society -- Understanding dominant-minority relations in the United States today. African Americans : from segregation to modern institutional discrimination and modern racism -- American Indians : from conquest to tribal survival in a postindustrial society -- Hispanic Americans : colonization, immigration, and ethnic enclaves -- Asian Americans : a "model minorities"? -- Challenges for the present and the future. New Americans, assimilation, and old challenges -- Minority groups and U.S. society : themes, patterns, and the future.