The Uses and Abuses of Whiteness Theory

Socialism 2016

July 01, 2016
With Eric Kerl

Whiteness theory has become part of the standard left discourse on race in the United States. But, is the framework of whiteness useful for anti-racists? And how should Marxists engage in this still developing field of race theory?

Suggested Readings:
“Race, class, and ‘whiteness theory’” by Sharon Smith, in International Socialist Review #47
Not Quite White: White Trash and the Boundaries of Whiteness by Matt Wray (Duke University Press)
Odd Tribes: Toward a Cultural Analysis of White People by John Hartigan (Duke University Press)
History of White People by Neil Painter

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