Steele, C. (2011). Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do, W. W. Norton & Company.

Claude M. Steele's Whistling Vivaldi is a literary work that is based on the life and research experiences of a distinguished professor of Psychology at Stanford University. The book captures the reader's attention starting with its intriguing title, how can the classical composer Vivaldi be connected to our modern world of stereotypes? 

The author starts by stating the elephant in the room, the minorities not being able to compete with their counterparts. He makes the argument that "stereotype threat" and multiple other factors external to these minorities eventually lead to this situation and goes on to provide concrete research backing this hypothesis. This direct approach to stating the problem is a welcome characteristic, especially in a highly polarized field such as diversity research. The book also invests in recognizing and stating the multiple interpretations that the cited research can carry which adds more credibility to the content. 

Although the book provides an invaluable perspective on one of the most challenging problems of our modern society; stereotypes and their influences on us, this book will find special audience in the experts on diversification of education. The author relies on a multitude of empirical research on this issue and thus can serve as a review in cutting-edge research on diversity research and, in its last chapters, proposes multiple resolutions that have been already been proven to nurture a more welcoming multicultural/ethnic environment. 

Finally, while main research structures this book is based on take place in the United States, readers are still able to identify multiple parallels with their local societies. The recommendations of the book will prove valuable to communities in the development phases of their diversification and should be seriously considered in facilitating this development.

다양성 관련 도서 추천사 우수작, 기계공학과 학부생 Kareem Khaleel