Introduction: "¡¿Que Haces Gringuito?!"
Part 1. History
1. Bacon's Rebellion and the Advent of Whiteness
2. The Draft Riots of 1863 and the Defense of White Privilege
Part 2. Pragmatist Tools
3. John Dewey and Inquiry
4. Race as Deweyan Habit
5. Du Bois and the Gift of Race
6. Du Bois' Critique of Whiteness
Part 3. Contemporary Problems and Debates
7. Whiteness in Post-Civil Rights America
8. Contemporary Debates on Whiteness
Part 4. Reconstructing Whiteness
9. Habits of Whiteness
10. Whiteness Reconstructed
Conclusion: Gifts Beyond the Pale
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Confronts major issues that have impeded racial understanding
Terrance MacMullan is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Honors at Eastern Washington University. He is co-editor of Revealing Male Bodies (IUP, 2002). He lives in Spokane, Washington.
In his autobiography, Malcolm X issued a challenge to
'well-meaning' whites to work within their own communities to solve
the problem of racism. A growing body of scholarship by white
theorists on white privilege reflects an effort to do just this. In
Habits of Whiteness, MacMullan (Eastern Washington Univ.) brings a
fresh perspective to this ongoing discussion. In seeking to answer
the question of why racism lingers in a society where the vast
majority of whites profess a belief in the equality of all races,
MacMullan employs John Dewey's pragmatic model to identify racism
as a habit. As such, it is a 'pre-reflective cognitive or
behavioral practice'--natural and invisible. The work of Du Bois,
whom MacMullan considers a pragmatist, provides the basis for his
substantive critique of white racism. MacMullan's aim, however, is
not merely to identify the nature of the problem, but to offer hope
of a resolution. Dewey's interactionist model of knowledge allows
MacMullan to posit a reconstruction of the habits of whiteness,
replacing them with positive contributions to the world--unique
'cultural gifts' identified by Du Bois as possessed by each race,
including whites. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level
undergraduates and above. -- ChoiceB. J. Hall, California State
University, East Bay, November 2009
"MacMullan takes responsibility for his habits and investments in
whiteness as an encouraging example... delicate, but courageous."
—Lucius T. Outlaw, author of On Race and Philosophy
"One of the clearest statements of why Dewey and Du Bois are both
committed to the pragmatist project of human brotherhood." —Bill E.
Lawson, co-author of Between Slavery and Freedom
"In his autobiography, Malcolm X issued a challenge to
'well-meaning' whites to work within their own communities to solve
the problem of racism. A growing body of scholarship by white
theorists on white privilege reflects an effort to do just this. In
Habits of Whiteness, MacMullan... brings a fresh perspective to
this ongoing discussion. In seeking to answer the question of why
racism lingers in a society where the vast majority of whites
profess a belief in the equality of all races, MacMullan employs
John Dewey's pragmatic model to identify racism as a habit. As
such, it is a 'pre-reflective cognitive or behavioral
practice'—natural and invisible. The work of Du Bois, whom
MacMullan considers a pragmatist, provides the basis for his
substantive critique of white racism. MacMullan's aim, however, is
not merely to identify the nature of the problem, but to offer hope
of a resolution. Dewey's interactionist model of knowledge allows
MacMullan to posit a reconstruction of the habits of whiteness,
replacing them with positive contributions to the world—unique
'cultural gifts' identified by Du Bois as possessed by each race,
including whites.... Recommended." —Choice, November 2009
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