Modern genetics is recycling 19th-century debates over the biology of race, but as the foreword writer notes, the meaning of 'race' really has more to do with the social ideology of what group is used as the litmus test for race. Sicher (comparative and English literature, Ben-Gurion U. of the Negev, Beer-Sheva) introduces chapters by contributors from the social sciences, history, cultural studies, and literature that apply these debates to such controversial questions as who is a Jew, whether the category is biological or cultural, and the effects of the "ethnicization" of diseases. In the contexts of globalization, multiculturalism, and diaspora, authors discuss topics including the social construction of race, relations between white Jews and African Americans, and Ethiopian Jews in Israel. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)