By Anna Gustafson
Queens College professor Stephen Steinberg has long considered his research on race and ethnicity to be far outside the mainstream sociology field, which is why he was pleasantly surprised his outsider views seem to have launched him into his most recent accomplishment: being named a distinguished professor of urban studies by the City University of New York.
“I’ve been a critic of my discipline all through the years, which is why it’s interesting I got this award,” said Steinberg, a Queen College professor since 1981. “I still find myself this dogged critic whistling in the wind.”
Steinberg was appointed a distinguished professor in mid-July, an honor reserved for teachers with records of exceptional performance in their profession, according to CUNY.
“In addition to his prodigious, powerful work that has advanced the cause of social justice, Dr. Steinberg has been an active and affirming presence on our campus for over 30 years, a professor respected and beloved by students and colleagues alike,” Queens College President James Muyskens said. “We are fortunate and proud to have him on our faculty and congratulate him on this much-deserved honor.”
Steinberg, the author of six books and a countless number of articles, has long argued that systemic racism in the labor market has prevented many African Americans and other non-white groups from becoming part of the country’s middle-class society and instead forced them to languish in poverty.
Steinberg contends it is these systemic issues, including the decline of affirmative action, that most hurt minority groups, not the lack of individual motivation as many of his colleagues have argued.
Although Steinberg said his criticisms of his field have not landed him an exorbitant number of admirers, he does have his fans, including Derrick Bell, a renowned race theorist and visiting professor at New York University Law School.
“I can think of few with equal scholarship in the field of race and even fewer with his courageous willingness to take positions contrary to the orthodox,” Bell said.
Steinberg published “The Ethnic Myth: Race, Ethnicity and Class in America” in 1981, which went on to become one of the top 50 all-time best sellers in sociology and is now in its third printing. His most recent book, published in 2007, is “Race Relations: A Critique.”
Coming of age during the civil rights movement inspired Steinberg to study race, and he has gone on to analyze the status of immigrants in the United States. Steinberg has railed against sociologists like Robert Putnam, who has argued that immigrants in diverse areas tend to isolate themselves instead of becoming civically engaged.
Steinberg argues immigrants living among themselves proves to be a “decompression chamber” that prepares the children of first-generation immigrants to assimilate.
“People don’t jump in, dissolve and become Americans,” Steinberg said. “It happens over generations. Integration into larger society takes place among the children of immigrants.”
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e-mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 174.
