Ali Meghji’s The Racialized Social System (2022) examines the study of critical race theory (CRT) as a “practical social theory” that examines the micro, meso, and macro dimensions of race across time and space. Meghji sectionizes his analysis into four chapters, the first of which adapts Pierre Bourdieu's theory of “social space” to link the unequitable distribution of resources to the social construct of racial hierarchy at the macro level. Then, in the next chapter, he explores the racialization of emotions on a micro level, detailing how dominant racial ideologies politicize emotions. In the third chapter, Meghji introduces the concept of interactional order and interactional risk(s)/right(s) as a measure of inequitable racial distribution and emotional regulation. Then, in the last chapter, Meghji examines how meso-organizational spaces (schools, workplaces, industries, etc.) are designed to restrict the agency of racialized individuals, while giving agency to their white counterparts. Through this multileveled approach, Meghji illustrates how the “practical social theory” of CRT is a viable tool for analyzing and understanding racism both theoretically and practically.
[1] Micro (small) and macro (large) are intertwined “through the racialized social system approach – offers a framework which links the macro structure of racial hierarchy to the micro workings of everyday life, emotions and perceptions” (2022, p.55).
Meso (middle) – Meghji refers to “those in-between organizational spaces – education, workplaces, industries and so on – that are worthy of analysis in their own right” (2022, p.90).