Sunday, June 22, 2003

Standing on the Top -- Whiteness Studies

Darryl Fears has an interesting article in the Washington Post about Whiteness studies, the new discipline of studying and critiquing the creation of the white race and white privilege. Worth a read. (via HarambeeJournal). While I know that white people often perceive themselves as raceless (if they think about race at all), I'm concerned that these efforts aren't focused more on bringing an analysis of race into the established disciplines. It seems to me that would be more appropriate in the long run. But I'm no longer walking the academic path, so what do I know?


Speaking of White

This mob idea seems like a very "white" thing to me. I'm not calling people out by race, but rather, noting that this seems to be something only a privileged class of people could or would do. What is the point of having a mindless mob with no real goal to pursue? And if this were a group of poor people or people of color doing this, would it be interesting or would they all end up in jail? Someone needs to do this kind of action with a purpose - to actually address some of our society's problems, rather than just as a lark.


And yes, I'm reminded again that I need to read Smart Mobs.