Item number 983 - Original Query
21 August 1995

Subject: "Whiteness" as a Racial Category -- query From: David Ericson, University of Vermont <ericson@vt.edu>

Has anyone seen any thoughtful recent treatments of the invention of "white-ness"? I use many texts with my undergraduate students to discuss the historical, economic, and cultural determinants leading to the invention of blackness as a racial category, but would like them to see some arguments that go beyond pointing out that such a history leaves "white" as an empty-yet-normative term and takes up either detailed theoretical argument or specific examples. Thank you kindly.

Item number 984
21 August 1995

Subject: Re: "Whiteness" as a racial category -- (reply to query)

Look at the work of David Roediger, esp. The Wages of Whiteness, but also some other things he has written.
Ann Waltner
Department of History
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Item number 985
22 August 1995

Subject: "Whiteness" as a racial category -- more bibliography From: Daniel Segal, Pitzer College <dsegal@bernard.pitzer.edu>

On the social construction of "whiteness," see:

Dominguez, Virginia, *White By Definition* Saxton, Alexander, *The Rise and Fall of The White Republic*

and with apologies for an immodest cite:

Segal, D. "'The European': Allegories of Racial Purity" in *Anthropology Today*, vol. 7(5).

Item number 986
23 August 1995

Subject: Re: "Whiteness" as a racial category From: Don Johnson, New York University <JOHNSOND@ACFcluster.NYU.EDU>

In reply to David Ericson, I would recommend Robert Young's excellent collection "White Mythologies." Many of the chpaters are by scholars from outside Europe.

Item number 987
23 August 1995

Subject: Re: "Whiteness" as a racial category From: Timothy Burke, Swarthmore College <tburke1@swarthmore.edu>

Another book that might illuminate the subject of "whiteness" in a broader vein is James G. Carrier, ed., -Occidentalism: Images of the West-.

There is also a remarkably rich South African literature on the subject of whiteness and its construction; I would include Rian Malan, -My Traitor's Heart-, Marq de Villiers, -White Tribe Dreaming-, Vincent Crapanzano, -Waiting-, and possibly judging from what I've heard of it, Saul duBow's new book -Scientific Racism in Modern South Africa-.

There was also an issue of the -Village Voice- a ways back with a bunch of stories published under the heading "White Like Me"; I can probably dig out the exact cite if anyone's interested.

Timothy Burke
Swarthmore College, Department of History Swarthmore, PA 19081
610-328-8115 (w), 610-544-2504 (h)

Web page address: http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/tburke1

Item number 989
23 August 1995

Subject: "Whiteness" bibliography -- a correction From: Dan Segal <DSEGAL@bernard.PITZER.EDU>

Something bibliographic is amiss in yesterday's post that I quote below. *White Mythologies* is NOT a collection with chapters by different authors. It is authored soley by Robert Young. It is a discussion primarily of philosophies of history, and of how they implicitly define "the West" as the privileged case of the Historic (that is, of Universal History). There is a chapter about G. Spivak and another about H. Bhaba, as well as extensive discussion of E. Said (though not, if I recall correctly a separate chapter about him), , but the book in its entirety is BY Robert Young.

> From: Don Johnson, New York University <JOHNSOND@ACFcluster.NYU.EDU> >
> In reply to David Ericson, I would recommend Robert Young's excellent > collection "White Mythologies." Many of the chpaters are by scholars from > outside Europe.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]