American society and coded racism: From Nixon to Clinton.

The issue of race and racism in contemporary America is a widely debated subject. Many scholars argue that race remains a significant barrier to socioeconomic equality between African Americans and whites. Yet, many other scholars disagree. This dissertation explores the way in which racism is maintained in American society in coded form. The election of Richard Nixon in 1968 heralded the beginning of the conservative ascendancy in American politics and society and also a new political realignment in which race was a definitive factor. One of the principal ways in which this was achieved was through the use of coded racial politics. Yet, the use of coded words, symbols and phrases to refer to racial issues, helped legitimise and maintain racism in post-Civil Rights America. The dissertation, through the method of discourse analysis, provides an analytical history of the codification of racism between the Nixon and Clinton administrations. Through an analysis of presidential and public discourses surrounding eight pivotal events, the dissertation examines the reproduction of coded racism in American society