Nell Irvin Painter’s The History of White People examines the concept of white as a racial category: what is considered a white race, what is not, what such distinctions mean and how notions of whiteness have changed in response to shifting demographics, aesthetic tastes and politics.

She will discuss these ideas on Thursday, July 22, at 8 p.m. at the Chilmark Community Center.

Ms. Painter is the Edwards Professor of American History, emerita, at Princeton University and former president of the Organization of American Historians and the Southern Historical Association.

Copies of her book, called “insightful and lively” by the New York Times, will be available for purchase and signing following the discussion

The center is at 520 South Road. The talk is free to members, $5 to nonmembers. For details, 508-645-9484.