Race and ethnicity have become two of the most loaded and contested concepts in the contemporary world. This text aims to disentangle this complexity and guide the reader to a clearer understanding of the debates. Analysing the genealogy, meanings and political uses of the concepts of race and ethnicity, it draws on scholarship from philosophy, history, post-colonial studies, political theory and literary studies to explore the structure, status and scope of these concepts. The book outlines the ways in which a variety of disciplines have informed and shaped theories of questions of race and ethnicity, setting these broadly philosophical analyses within their social and historical context.