Giving up the ghost, disrupting the (re)production of white privilege in anti-racist pedagogy and organizational change
Year: 1998
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This thesis explores the operations of white privilege within progressive white culture service organizations engaged in anti-racist change efforts.My analysis flows from a critique of two practices pervasive in, but by no means exclusive to, pedagogy: the use of storytelling, and 'moves to innocence'.Among anti-racist, feminist and critical pedagogy theorists there is a significant gap between the level of interest in poststmcturai ideas and efforts to apply them at an operational level.The particular relevance of this thesis lies in its intended contribution to the bridging of that gap.At the heart of this thesis lies the theoretical tension between the anti-foundationd and deconstructive impuises of poststnicturalism and the liberationist desire to honour the historical material realities of the oppressed.By reading the concept of 'epistemic privilege' through 'strategic essentialisrn' 1 argue the feasibility of a carefuiIy constructed and politically engaged poststnichiralism in order to negotiate the material b a i s for valuing truths from the margins, while recopnizing the partiality and power implicatedness of knowledge.1 am indebted to my supervisor Kari Dehli for her ongoing support, rigorous edits of several drafts, inteilectual inspiration, and her caring and diplornatic communication style. 1 owe thanks to my second reader, Sherene Razack, for sharing her unique perspective with
Author: Janet Lee Mawhinney
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2770009833