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Matter of whiteness
The matter of whiteness
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Ruth Frankenberg’s essay “Mirage Of An Unmarked Whiteness” begins as “ . . .an examination of how, when, and why whiteness has disappeared from the racial radar screen, with whites exempt (from the views of some people) from the definition as a racial category” (86). Frankenberg dissects the generalized assumptions of whiteness and its relationship with race by analyzing the malleable structures of whiteness and racialization throughout history.Frankenberg compares the power whiteness and race through historical contexts. The claim that whiteness is invisible is false. Rather, whiteness is a changing idea that is applied to specific colonial projects to the oppressor’s advantage. Race and whiteness were both created by the historical contexts
In Myne Owne Ground, the authors argue that it was not inevitable that black men and women were made subordinate to white colonists in colonial Virginia because in the early days there was more about wealth, economic standing, and religion than the color of one’s skin. For example, when a white man, Richard Ackworth, ask John Johnson to give testimony in a suit which Ackworth had filed against another Whiteman (Myne Owne Ground, 16). They were unwilling to allow a black man to testify in legal proceedings involving whites at first, but when they learned that John had been baptized and understood the meaning of an oat, they accepted his statement.
In Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State Virginia, Query 14 & 18 Jefferson uses the literary technique of compare and contrast as well as rhetorical questions to describe how white people are far more superior to slaves. However, by minimizing the validity of the African peoples beauty and way of life he only shows himself to be ignorant and insecure.As a result, Thomas Jefferson's Query 14 & 18 showcases the psychological disabilities that comes with “whiteness”.
“There is in fact no such thing as an instantaneous photograph. All photographs are time exposures, of shorter or longer duration, and each describes a discrete parcel of time.” -John Szarkowski
Everybody on earth faces some type of hardship at some point in their life. Regardless of religious preference most people seek guidance and find comfort through practicing their faith. This is exactly the case for Ruth McBride-Jordan, James McBride’s mother. In the novel The Color of Water, James sends the messages that a strong faith in God can overcome any obstacle and is the foundation for a happy, prosperous life through the story of his mother’s life.
They argue that the accruing of property by figures such as Johnson meant that they literally did not think of themselves as living within a racist society, and that, despite the decline of this freedom, it is a mistake to consider their opinions as an “aberration” in a narrative of inevitable racial exploitation (Breen & Innes, 112). Rather, they claim that to understand such people as such an aberration inevitably leads to a situation in which the real equality of their freedom is
In Matthew Frye Jacobson's article called "Free White Persons in the Republic, 1790-1840", concepts of "probational whiteness" and "fitness for self-government" are scrutinized. This article is mainly related with racism, so this word is defined by Meriam-Webster Dictionary as "a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race or racial prejudice or discrimination." According to this definition racial differences have created problems among mankind for centuries. Jacobson draws a portrayal of perception of race and tells about the different phase of racism, especially after 1790 in America.
“Yellow Woman” written by Leslie Marmon Silko is a short story based on a Native American Legend story. In this Legend story, a woman has been taken away from her family for a period of time. The Yellow Woman are taken by a Ka’tisna spirit which is better known as a mountain spirit. Throughout the story, the reader learns that the narrator is in an overarching battle with her personal identity as a Pueblo Indian Woman. On top of the narrator's battle with understanding her personal identity she is in a constant battle with trying to understand what events are happening in real life as well as what events are remnants of this legend story told by her grandfather. In sum, the struggle that the narrator has is the common theme occurring throughout.
The paper titled “White Ignorance” written by Charles Milles talks about ignorance within the white race and how it is a multidimensional entity; it’s mentioned there should be a sociology of ignorance. The boundaries for what is deemed as white ignorance is laid out in the paper. These boundaries serve as reminders to the reader that ignorance is not limited to only white people, and that not all whites are ignorant. White ignorance builds itself beyond refutation, to the point where anything outside the ordinary norms of white supremacy over other races is ignored. Writers seeking to expose the blindness that comes with this type of ignorance have come up with examples to try to show their point of view. One such writer by the name of Herman Melville wrote a novel called Benito Cerono, in
E. D. Hirsch and Lisa Delpit are both theorist on teaching diverse students. Both of these theorist believe that when teaching diverse students, teachers need to see their students for who they are. Seeing your students for who they are, means you look past the color of your students’ skin and recognize their culture. According to Stubbs, when teachers look at their students equally, no matter the color of their skin, then the teacher is considered colorblind (2002). Being colorblind is not a great thing because we should not treat all of our students the same, since each student is different. It is important to see our students for who they are because our classes are unique. Instead, our classes represent a rainbow underclass. According to Li, the rainbow underclass is the representation of families who are culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged (2008). In order to meet these student’s needs, teachers need to think about the struggles that each student face.
Illusion can be defined as a distortion of the senses, of reality, and the perception of a dream like world that consumes us. James Baldwin author of the short story “Sonny’s Blues” uses the unique creativity of illusion to therefore draw in his readers. He uses several literary elements including characterization, plot, and setting to express his elaborate use of illusion in this story. Likewise Nathaniel Hawthorne author of the most controversial short story “The Birthmark” also uses illusion to draw attention to an almost magical setting of mystery and morality. Both of these authors use this theme in their works brilliantly, but in contrasting styles, which on the contrary makes their works masterpieces in distorting the beauty and truth in the world.
As a European immigrant in the USA, I have encountered many new cultural phenomena in the last 4 _ years that have challenged me to perceive who I am differently. This experience has been even more polarized by the fact that I have lived most of that time in Los Angeles, a melting pot to be reckoned with. Coming to America, I expected these adaptations to my Irish self but the intensity of becoming cognizant of my label of 'whiteness' has mocked the limitations of my anticipations.
Fanon focuses on two related desires that constitute the pathology of the colonial situation: “The Black man wants to be white. The white man is desperately trying to achieve the rank of man” (p. xiii). As an unconscious desire, this can result in a series of irrational behaviors and beliefs, such as the Antillean speaking French, the desire for a white
Some could argue that what we call history’s main focus is: the white man’s history. This is easily argued by observing what we learn about in school: the triangular trade, the Roman Empire and the First World War. What does these three historical events have in common? They all tell the story of the white man and to some degree how this white man was always the superior one. By using the term “we” one quickly realizes that it deals with the Western society. This particular society quickly developed its own monoculture in which a collective memory was created of how history is perceived. We are therefore easily forgetting that Western history is not the only story to be told. This assignment will analyze and comment on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED talk “The danger of a single story” from 2009. The key focus in the analysis is how the author engages the audience and on her use of the term “a single story”.
Frankenberg, R. (1993). White women, race matters : the social construction of whiteness. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
...il Ching-Liang. White Skins/ Black Masks: Representation and Colonialism. 1996.London: Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. Print.