Coping with Minority Status

Society consists of numerous interconnected interacting and interdependent groups which differ in power and status. The consequences of belonging to a more powerful higher-status ''majority'' versus a less powerful lower-status ''minority'' can be profound and the tensions that arise between these groups are the root of society''s most difficult problems. To understand the origins of these problems and develop solutions for them it is necessary to understand the dynamics of majority-minority relations. This volume brings together leading scholars in the fields of stigma prejudice and discrimination minority influence and intergroup relations to provide diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives on what it means to be a minority. The volume which focuses on the strategies that minorities use in coping with majorities is organized into three sections: ''Coping with Exclusion: Being Excluded for Who You Are''; ''Coping with Exclusion: Being Excluded for What You Think and Do''; and ''Coping with Inclusion''.