Brouwer's Article: Power And Privilege In Higher Education

709 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: economic inequality in America

Power and privilege may be challenging and trigger defensiveness from white counterparts. However, it is important to recognize the systemic privilege that whites have over those who come from disadvantaged groups. Prior, to the readings I had a little knowledge of the power and privilege but I did not know the avenues that privileged people do to ensure that their children enroll in the top universities and colleges. As a result, whites have greater access to certain higher social status and income levels that will position them to have greater control over decision-making. This privilege reinforces the imbalance of privilege that whites have over racialized groups. Power and privilege to my knowledge as a minority recognizing those who …show more content…

Brouwer clearly demonstrated throughout his article the “sharing of the pie” relating his article to the implications of higher education. According to Brouwer (1998), 90% of Americans are in a constant struggle with each other for 18% of the wealth. He makes an appealing case that there is an economic gap between races with assets to education, home ownership, fair pay, and social wealth. As a class we discussed that this power and privilege is deeper; there is a difference between social/culture capital, and it has nothing to do with money. I totally agree, with this statement which as a result drove my interest to research more about the differences. The Forms of Capital (1986) written by Bourdieu address the concepts of cultural and social capital. From his point of view, he believes that cultural capital is something that is equipped by oneself and, as a result, reproduces economic capital. The two capitals are directly proportion to each …show more content…

There are deeply embedded systems reiterate power and privilege. Economic capital is often not generated or transferred into cultural capital because most who come from low-economic backgrounds are not at all and/or effectively educated on the importance of acquiring skills to boost cultural capital. Those who have a well-paying job that brings him/her power and higher salary/status increases their economic capital. Those opportunities should be equitable to everyone, but unfortunately, that is not the case leaving those who come from disadvantaged groups impoverished and those in power increasing their abundance of

Show More
Related

  • Imagine A Country Summary

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    The two articles that had a profound impact to my understanding of race, class and gender in the United States was White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh and Imagine a Country by Holly Sklar. McIntosh explains the keys aspects of unearned advantage (a privilege that one group hold over another) as well as conferred dominance (the act of voluntarily giving another group power) and the relationship that these factors hold when determine power of a social group. Additionally, the purpose of McIntosh’s article was to demonstrate the privilege that certain individuals carry and how that translates to the social structures of our society. Furthermore, conferred dominance also contributes to the power of the dominant group

    Read More

  • Christine Emba's White Privilege?

    1074 Words  | 3 Pages

    In her 16 January 2016 The Washington Post editorial, “What is White Privilege?”, Christine Emba asserts white privilege is a societal advantage inherent in people who are white, irrespective of their “wealth, gender, or other factors.” According to Emba, white privilege makes life smoother and is an entity that is hidden or unknown until the privilege is taken away. Although racism is still a rampant issue in society today, white privilege is a concept created by the progressive left in order to brand whites as a scapegoat for issues and adversities that non-whites face. This concept of privilege ultimately causes further dissension between whites and non-whites.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Critical Race Theory

    1465 Words  | 3 Pages

    This power keeps the behavior of the oppressed well within the set guidelines of the oppressor (Freire, 2000, pg. 47). Critical Race Theory outlines this system of oppression as it relates to white and non-white races. By using the critical race theory coupled with the system of oppression described by Freire (2000), I propose that within the system of oppression, the oppressor must keep its own members in line with the prescribed guidelines by reinforcing the social norms from birth. Freire (2000) suggest that the interest of the oppressors lie in “changing the consciousness of the oppressed not the system” (pg.34). Identifying as white, therefore, starts at birth when members of the white class work to reinforce social norms that began with our founding fathers at Plymouth Rock. This long history of white privilege was taught to me and I continue to teach it to my children. As an educator of white affluent high school students, I believe we provide college and career counseling based on this white privilege system of oppression as well. Here, I journey even closer to unraveling the myth of white privilege as I encounter the intersection of an affluent white student choosing a career after high

    Read More

  • Stereotypes in the Film The Matrix

    2401 Words  | 5 Pages

    McIntosh, Peggy. "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," in Race, Class, and Gender in the United States, ed. Paula S. Rothenberg. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998.

    Read More

  • White Racial Identity

    3116 Words  | 7 Pages

    Prior to beginning my readings on white racial identity, I did not pay much attention to my white race. If someone had asked me to describe my appearance I would have said short blond hair, blue eyes, average stature, etc. One of the last things I would have noted was the color of my skin. Growing up in overwhelmingly white communities, I never thought to use the color of my skin to differentiate myself from others. Over the course of this dialogue I have learned that my white racial identity is one of the most defining aspects of my appearance in this society. There is a certain level of privilege that I am afforded based solely on the color of my skin. According to Peggy McIntosh, “White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks” (71). All these objects listed by McIntosh are things I have access to and certainly take for granted. Due to a history of non-white racial oppression, which transformed into decades of racial discrimination that still lingers today, the white race has dominated our society in terms of resources and prosperity. The ideas of wealth, higher-level education and ambition to succeed are all traits commonly linked to people of the white race that collectively define privilege. The aspect of privilege can also produce disadvantages for people of the white race as well. In the book Promoting Diversity and Justice, the author D. Goodman notes that people of advantage groups develop a sense of superiority, which will sometimes lead them to wonder if, “their achievements were based on privilege or merit” (107). Along with a diminished sense of accomplishment, the cost ...

    Read More

  • Social Capital And Cultural Capital Essay

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    To fully understand why social, economic, and cultural capital could lead to success or failure, it is essential to know the difference between the three. Social capital is defined by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development as “the links, shared values, and understandings in society that enable individuals and groups to trust each other and to work together” (OECD, 2015). Social capital can be multiple things including family members, colleagues, and strangers who have the

    Read More

  • The Bro Code

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    McIntosh, Peggy. White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack. N.p.: Wellesley College Center for Research for Women, 1989. Print.

    Read More

  • Essay On Race And Race

    1458 Words  | 3 Pages

    White privilege is institutionalized when the practices and policies of an institution systematically benefit whites at the expense of other racial groups. Peggy McIntosh published an article entitled “White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack”, which names in very clear ways, how everyday, having white skin confers privileges that white people don’t often realize they receive. By illuminating the many forms that white privilege takes, Peggy McIntosh urges readers to exercise a sociological imagination. She asks us to consider how our individual life experiences are connected to and situated within large-scale patterns and trends in society. She includes a “white privileges” checklist which include answering yes or no to statements. For example, can Chad Aiken confidently say “I can be pulled over by a police cruiser and not have to worry about it being about my race”, or “I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the “person in charge”, I will be facing a person of my race”. White people are generally free from this systemic bias, suspicion and low expectations that racialized people must endure everyday because it is built into our culture. When a criminal has white skin, his actions are never connected to his race, while a criminal perceived as a brown-skinned Muslim might inspire hatred and suspicion of other

    Read More

  • Child Rearing Theory

    1025 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Unequal Childhood - Class, Race, and Family Life, Annette Lareau tributes the French social scientist Pierre Bourdieu when using his theory of the forms of capital as a fundamental argument on her study. In this theory, Bourdieu recognizes three different types of capital; social, symbolical and cultural. Bourdieu describes social capital as “the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition.” This means that social capital is based on resources built from personal relationships, club memberships and other social influence and connections. The second form of capital,

    Read More

  • Essay On Post Racial Society

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    “White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks” (McIntosh, 172). White privilege is all around us, but society has been carefully taught

    Read More

  • White Privilege Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack Analysis

    460 Words  | 1 Pages

    In her article, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” Peggy McIntosh writes about the privilege white individuals get without noticing it. McIntosh talks about how whites are taught to not recognize their privilege. McIntosh having a background in Women’s Studies, she also talks about how men have more privileges than women, yet they rarely recognize it. In the article McIntosh claims that “After I realized the extent to which men work from a base of unacknowledged privilege, I understood that much of their oppressiveness was unconscious.”

    Read More

  • ' Dear Privileged, And Meritocracy Is A Book, By Briana Payton

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    In May 2014, Time.com published an article that would soon become the source of no small amount of social contention (1). In the article, “Dear Privileged-at-Princeton: You. Are. Privileged. And Meritocracy Is a Myth,” author Briana Payton lashes out at classmate Tal Fortgang for an article he wrote a month prior (1). Payton, a freshman studying sociology at Princeton University and the political antithesis of Fortgang, takes issue with her classmates’ definition of the word “privilege” (1). She argues that, because Fortgang is white, society inherently affords him “privilege” (Payton 1). Payton’s main flaw is her tone — her condescending, demeaning, and arrogant rhetoric distracts from her content and diminishes her credibility. Conversely,

    Read More

  • The Myth Of White Privilege

    1845 Words  | 4 Pages

    With all of these facts, the author tries to prove that racial differences and privileges appear exaggerated and unrealistic. The privileged and less privileged exist at all levels of society. Duke wants white people to understand that they are in the same position as all other races. The awareness of “white privilege” is only a fallacy that causes feel of guilt without foundation.

    Read More

  • Shamus Rahman Khan's Priviledge: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul's School

    1711 Words  | 4 Pages

    Returning to his old high school after having had graduate ten years ago, Shamus Rahman Khan came in with one goal: to study the inequality of a school that claims to be more “diverse.” St. Paul’s School located in Concord, New Hampshire claims to have become more diverse over the years, accepting people of different racial backgrounds and social classes to their prestigious boarding school. However, as described in his book, Khan found that this claim made by the school is false. He also found out that the elite that used to attend his school is not the same as the elite attending it now. Nonetheless, it was the elite that were succeeding because they were the ones who could afford the school, had family linages that already attended the school, and mastered “ease” which made them privileged in society. Separating his book into five different chapters, each focusing on a different topic that helps support his claim, Khan describes this change in elite and the inequality that still accompanies St. Paul’s. In the introduction to Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul’s School, Khan states the three most important points he will refer to during the rest of the book: hierarchies are natural and can be used to one’s advantage, experiences matter more than inherited qualities, and the elite signal their status through ease and openness. These are discussed thoroughly in throughout Privilege.

    Read More

  • The Capital Theory by Pierre Bourdieu

    887 Words  | 2 Pages

    The extended concept of capital, which was largely developed by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu dates back to an entanglement of the perspectives of Marx and Weber. In particular, he draws on the concept of capital by Marx, whilst picking up the theory of Weber where capital is a product of the accumulation of collective labour. But Bourdieu further generalizes the theory in order to develop a concept of capital in all its forms. Thereby, he dissociates his perspective sharply from a merely economist perspective and criticizes such concepts as only related to the exchange of goods, in a market driven and profit oriented processes. With this view, according to Bourdieu, all other process of exchange and calculation (social, cultural, symbolic, religious) implicitly (or explicit) are perceived as relations without interest and thus are left out of accounts as study objects. (Bourdieu, 1983; Fuchs-Heinritz & König, 2005)

    Read More

More about Brouwer's Article: Power And Privilege In Higher Education

Open Document