This tome of 18 chapters could not have been possible without the support of David Fasenfest, who received us with endless patience, and followed up with a ton of gentle prodding. He never minced his words, yet at the same time, he let us know that what we had was something that needed to be published and put out there. For that, and much more, we are ever grateful. I started out my academic career, many moons ago, hoping that I could one day meet and even work with one of my idols, Sharon M. Collins. Here we are, many years later, and I call myself fortunate to call Sharon my friend—we have shared ideas, collaborated and published on a number of projects, and we have even found time here and there to talk smack about people. It has been a great journey. Michelle S. Dodson stepped in when we needed additional help on this project and we appreciate all her hard work on this book. Finally, we could not have done any of this without our many colleagues who contributed chapters for this book—they stuck with us through thick and thin and we appreciate them so much.
David G. Embrick
I gratefully acknowledge our series editor David Fasenfest for his valuable support as we developed this project and for spurring us on. I also want to acknowledge my co-editor David G. Embrick for his energy, sharp intellect, and vision, which guided this volume from start to finish. I thank our authors without whom this project could not exist. Finally, I want to acknowledge the family of scholars who devote their research to the sociology of diversity and inequality. I hope this project will contribute to new insights in the evolution of the field.
Sharon M. Collins
Working on this book has been a privilege. I am forever grateful to Dr. Embrick and Dr. Collins for inviting me to be a contributing editor. I have truly enjoyed being able to work with each contributing author. The work that they have created for this volume is insightful. As for my own contribution, I would also like to thank Dr. Barbara Risman and Dr. R Stephen Warner for their invaluable feedback and guidance.
Michelle S. Dodson