Seeing Others: How Recognition Works—and How It Can Heal a Divided World by Michèle Lamont

Seeing Others: How Recognition Works—and How It Can Heal a Divided World Reviews

• 
  Kelsey

  I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway. Overall, the premise of the book is that we need to provide everyone, especially minority groups, with dignity and basic respect. This is something I feel the US as a whole needs a reminder about.
  
  The author blames our growing division and conflict on neoliberalism, and does use this word literally every few pages, so prepare your self! It also examines how different generations view the "American Dream." I didn't exactly learn anything from this book - I think this is a book that would be better for an older generation (Gen X and Boomers), since it seems to be geared a bit towards them. Or, someone who is just starting to question institutions and systems and is in the very beginnings of that.
  
  The main issue I had with the book is while I understand what the author was TRYING to say, I think the editor should have made sure certain points were worded in a better way. The author is a white Harvard professor discussing about how to help elevate and bring dignity and respect to marginalized groups. The author acknowledges her white/Ivy League privilege BUT simultaneously says that she may have a better idea of the needs of marginalized people than they themselves do because she isn't a part of their community but "looking down" from the outside (she also says she is a 'non-fish' in this scenario, with marginalized people in the fish bowl she's looking into). Again, I understand what she is trying to say but the way it was worded was really off-putting to me and set the tone for the book since this was in the Intro. It felt very "white, educated person knows best" what ails POC.
  
  Overall, a good intro into folks that need a reminder (or to learn) that all groups of people deserve basic dignity, respect, and human rights.
• 
  Em

  Michele Lamont is a sociologist who recognizes that our ideas personally and collectively regarding determining whose stories matter is a complex one. Lamont speaks to how different schools of thought approach and analyze this question. The field of psychology is limited to a focus on the inner life and mind of individuals. Economists tend to focus on financial and material resources and how this impacts upward mobility and influence, etc. Michele Lamont is providing her readers with a full spectrum perspective on how recognition plays out both collectively in popular culture but also on an interpersonal, more intimate level.
  
  Seeing Others is a book with less of a focus on what causes division among different groups and more of a focal point on how specific people taking specific action can lead to new ideas about worth and how groups of people are seen. By analyzing the role that recognition plays in our lives, who sees us and how we get seen, the author encourages us to acknowledge our own inherent worth and that of others. In order to really recognize each other we have to question stereotypes, stigma, and negative portrayals. This book provides a great roadmap for how to do that and where to begin.
  
  Thank you to the author and publisher for the e-arc copy!
• 
  Brittany

  disclaimer if you’ve read other reviews by me and are noticing a pattern: You’re correct that I don’t really give starred reviews, I feel like a peasant and don’t like leaving them and most often, I will only leave them if I vehemently despised a book. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not, regardless if I add stars or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial
  
  This was a quick nonfiction read from sociology researcher Michéle Lamont & I thought it was accessible / didn’t feel too academic or dense (I have read a *lot* of stuffy academic journals because of my job so really, this was easily digestible).
  
  I think this would be a great book for anyone’s book club, as a primer for understanding the importance of *each individual’s commitment* to anti-racism &building a more just community, &hopefully, world.
  
  I thought “huh, doesn’t everyone know this?” Yet, as I reflected more on this, and as we have constantly seen in the cyclical discourse of BookTok and bookstagram, along with reviews for books that have racist, transphobic, sexist, homophobic, ableist, fatphobic, or xenophobic undertones, I think we need more and more introductory books that include INDIVIDUAL/INTERPERSONAL calls to action. In American society especially where fear-mongering rhetoric has dangerously othered marginalized folks for too long, we need books like this.
  
  The biggest problem I see with allyship is that it’s often performative, & people don’t want to recognize the bias &harm that they themselves have caused. We’re all human, so we all have responsibility in fostering brave spaces full of dialogue to better society. It is not “someone else’s problem,” it’s OURS. I need people to recognize the power of the allyship we participate in EVERY DAY.
• 
  Stroop

  A timely, compelling, and thought-provoking look at recognition and dignity. It is an accessible call to action with practical advice on how we can be more inclusive and how we can reshape narratives to reflect what we want society to be. Cultural norms can shift if we want them to, including how we define "success" and who gets to be recognized and feel worth (why not everyone?).
  
  Thank you very much to Atria and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.