W. W. Norton & Company Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do

This book opened my eyes to all the racism we see nowadays and how we can stereotype without even noticing. It also shows how even "good cliches" might not be that good at all. Great read!

Author: Claude M. Steele, PhD. What he published are the American Psychologist, the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. No award. Genre: While this is a book of social science, it is somewhat of an autobiography of psychologist. This book is intended for stereotype people and how people react to them (especially black and white). The purpose of the work is Steele, a social psychologist and professor at Stanford University, summarizes a year of research on stereotype threat and its effect on minority student academic performance in “Whistling Vivaldi,” named for a social experiment conducted by Brent Staples, an African-American New York Times journalist. Title: Title comes from an African-American guy named Staples noticed that people who saw him on the street at night seemed to regard him as a potential threat. But when he whistled classical music, their apprehension seemed to diminish. It is very interesting book because the story is coming from a real-life situation. Title encapsulates the topic of the book. Preface/Introduction/Table of Contents: There is an introduction which provides revealing information about the text in the introduction. Henry Louis Gates introduces the book. Guest author provides some books and Whistling Vivaldi is just one of them. This book is a part of Issues of Our Time. The book has chapters. Book Jacket/Cover/Printing: The book has book jackets are like mini-reviews. It provides a summary of the book and there is also a quote. It gives us outstanding information about the book. When you read book jacket, it catches your attention to the book. There is a picture of the author. It contributes the work. Summary and Evaluation: The title of the book comes from the author’s experience. Steele describes of Brent Staples, who was a graduate student in Chicago. He is an African-American, observed white people and couples reacting to him with fear when they walked past him in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Staples noticed that when he whistled the tunes of musician Vivaldi, white people seemed like to relax and some of them even smiled at him. He was a stereotype of a potentially violence- African-American person. Staples overcame this threat for himself and the people who passed him with fear. The book talks about the identity threat that occurs when faced with a negative stereotype. The author gives us some remedies to reduce stereotype threat. There are some researches he has done on the students from different backgrounds. There are some strategies to apply them to the classroom. There will be positive environment. The most fascinating parts were on how identity threat could be reduced or eliminated. He made outstanding points obviously, but I can't help but feel that it was repetitive and that its facts were supported with evidence. I think that he spent too much time spending on exploring what identity threat was, while he was not exploring why personal identities or stereotypes are formed. On the other hand, sometimes he refers to people as things, but as a human being. This book separates everyone in a certain stereotype. The author writes in broad terms like "black" "white" "man" "woman" that he doesn't mention the fact that we are all just people after all. Also, there was a huge bias towards certain groups of people in this book. Steele and his colleagues think of stereotype threat, because of “the pressure of group stereotypes”; a pressure that comes into play when people’s “performance confirm a bad view of their group and of themselves, as members of that group” (p. 59). When we experience stereotype threat, we try to protect ourselves because of our instinct. Our brains are trying to disobey the stereotype and protect our image. Our performance might hurt. I certainly suggest this book to my colleagues because the book has experiments and researches about identity. This book is very interesting because it comes from a real-life story.

My favourite conversation starter in the discussion of “the other”

Un libro muy útil y que todo el mundo debería leer. Es un buen análisis de cómo los prejuicios permean nuestras actitudes y nuestra afectividad de maneras insospechadas e inconscientes. Además es ameno, con muchos ejemplos y bien escrito.

Claude Steele's Whistling Vivaldi is an eye opening book that offers an in-depth look at the topic of stereotype threat, something that affects all of us in one way or another. Steele provides a straightforward depiction of stereotype threat, helping readers to understand a loaded topic and its impact, regardless of their previous knowledge of it. He uses personal accounts to illustrate how stereotype threat can develop, how it feels, and how it can affect individuals in various settings. Steele reminds us that divisions in our society are still present, whether they are related to race, gender, age, or any other characteristics that make us different from one another. Steele's use of personal accounts causes the reader to reflect on his/her own experience with stereotype threat and wonder how others might also be affected internally by stereotypes. Even though Steele is an expert on the subject, he does not place himself on a pedestal, and instead shares with us his own personal journey studying stereotypes. He does not alienate any specific groups or value one group's experience over another's, but instead discusses his research and its implications in a way that everyone can relate to. Steele not only offers his readers relatable, applicable research, but also goes on to discuss ways in which we can combat stereotype threat, especially in arenas like education. He leaves us feeling hopeful that change is possible. This book would be especially helpful to people working in the field of psychology, education, or any other field involving working with people! It is a reminder that even though our society has made some improvements over the past few decades, we are still impacted by stereotypes and must educate ourselves in order to continue making changes for the greater good.