The Intersectional Workings of Whiteness: A Representative Anecdote

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Notes

In many ways this article engages in dialogue with the work of John T. Warren, whose scholarship has greatly shaped how we approach and understand whiteness pedagogy. Given his untimely death, it is now a dialogue that has been irreparably stunted, and one in which his voice will be keenly missed. We also thank Cheree Carlson for feedback and insight on earlier versions of this project. Authors are listed in reverse alphabetical order and both contributed equally to the construction of this article.

For this article we draw on a wide number of classes whose curriculum includes issues of diversity or identity. This includes courses at the bachelor and master's level in topics such as intercultural communication, pop culture, gender, performance studies, rhetoric and identity, and the basic course. While the demographics of each class can shift, generally speaking, classes at the urban community college were primarily composed of Latino/a students; approximately two-thirds of the students at the urban Catholic university were white; at the large state research university it was not unusual for a class to have only white students or a single racially marginalized student; classes at the upper-division state university are typically evenly split between racially privileged and racially marginalized (predominantly black) students. Across these institutions ages range from high school teenagers to retirees, and socioeconomic status varies from working poor to wealthy.

This should not replace sitting in and with narratives and experiences of racially marginalized people. Such work is an important part of coming to an antiracist consciousness, but listening to others can only be part of the process. Active self-reflexivity of one's own experiences must also play a role.