Sciences Po Paris

Undergraduate Program - Sociology

2nd year - 1st semester 2014-2015

WHITENESS IN AMERICA
AN ETHNOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE

Teacher
Juliette Galonnier, PhD Student in Sociology at Sciences Po Paris and Northwestern
University (Chicago).

Overview
“Being white” in the United States is an identity often left unquestioned. Whiteness and
Americanness have become so closely intertwined that they are almost undistinguishable in
public discourse. While other ethnic and racial groups (African-Americans, Asian-Americans)
have to use hyphenation to demonstrate their belonging to the nation, white Americans
typically don’t face such challenges. In terms of access to housing, employment, healthcare,
credit and political representation, whites also have a structural advantage. Whiteness
therefore appears as a default, invisible identity, a norm against which minorities are defined
as “Others.” The purpose of this elective course is to deconstruct this idea. We will investigate
whiteness as a racial identity that has been historically constructed as a source of privilege and
will reflect on its current implications for racial inequality. The course is divided in three
parts: we will first try to reach a conceptual and theoretical understanding of whiteness as a
historical system of privilege, by relying on the work of prominent American authors (WEB
DuBois, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison). We will then delve into the history of whiteness in
America in order to understand how its content and boundaries have shifted over the years.
Finally, the bulk of the course will be devoted to ethnographic studies investigating how
whiteness operates in daily life and intersects with other factors of social stratification such as
class, space, gender, age, politics and religion. The objective is also to introduce students to
the ethnographic method in social sciences.

Number of hours
24 (12 sessions)

Language of tuition
English

Pre-requisites
Students should have some background in sociology. They should also have reflected on the
idea of “race.” Race is a tricky and touchy topic. Students are expected to know that race is a
social construction that has no scientific reality. It has, however, real consequences for
individuals in the sense that it structures their lives in a significant way.

Required reading
Readings are available on https://moodle.sciences-po.fr/. Log in and look for the class
“Whiteness in America.” You will find the readings for each class session.
Course validation
Participation (20% of the grade): Students are expected to attend each and every class.
They have to come to each class session prepared to discuss the assigned readings. We will
work in a seminar-like environment. Thus, class participation is a vital part of the course and
a significant component of students’ final grades. Remember that quality matters more than
quantity.
Oral presentation (35% of the grade): Each class, one student (or a group of 2 to 3
students) will present the assigned reading for the week. You will have to introduce the
author, his/her methodology and theoretical orientations. If the text is an ethnographic study,
you will be encouraged to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of this method. You will
also provide an analysis of the main concepts and key words of the reading as well as a
critical appraisal of its findings. Try to relate to what has been said in previous classes. The
presentation should last no more than 20 minutes. At the end, you will have to raise two or
three questions for collective discussion. You will have to send me a written version of your
presentation at juliette.galonnier@sciencespo.fr.
Final paper (45% of the grade): Students will have to write a 10-page final paper
investigating whiteness in a domain they care about. You will mostly use secondary sources
to make your argument, but you are also encouraged to use your own original data if you have
some (statistics, archives, interviews or ethnographic observation). Another possibility is to
pick up a movie and examine how the film resonates with the themes studied in class. The
paper requires an introduction, a literature review, a clear research question and an
explanation of why this question matters, a well-framed argument, a conclusion and a
bibliography. An outline of the paper will be due around the middle of the semester. I will
then give you individual feedback to help you towards the completion of your paper. You will
have to send your final paper at juliette.galonnier.scpo@analyse.urkund.com. Urkund is a
system that detects plagiarism. Please recall that Sciences Po has very strict policies regarding
plagiarism.

Road Map
02/09/14: Class 1: Introduction
Introductory lecture: Race and whiteness as social constructions. Overview of the history of
whiteness studies. Presentation of the ethnographic method. Collective discussion on the
concept of “white privilege”
We will be watching excerpts from the documentary “White Like Me” by Tim Wise (2013)
- Peggy McIntosh, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” Independent
School, 1989, p 1-4

THEORY

09/09/14: Class 2: First sociological reflections on whiteness: W.E.B DuBois (1868-1963)

You will be introduced to the thought of W.E.B. DuBois, one of the greatest sociologists of
his time. DuBois was one of the first to study race as a social construction and to investigate
whiteness as a source of privilege in America.
Oral presentation n°1
- READ: W.E.B. DuBois “The Forethought” and “chapter 1: Of Our Spiritual
Strivings,” in The Souls of Black Folk, New York, Dover, 1994 [1903]
- READ: W.E.B. DuBois, “The Souls of White Folks,” in Darkwater: Voices from
Within the Veil, New York: Dover Publications, 1999 [1920]
16/09/2014: Class 3: Denouncing Whiteness: James Baldwin (1924-1987)
We will read excerpts from the writings of novelist and social critic James Baldwin who
vividly depicted racial injustice in the United States. You will also be introduced to the
thought of other radical figures of the 1960s and 1970s, who strongly denounced white
domination, such as Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali.
Oral presentation n°2
We will be watching excerpts from interviews of Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali and James
Baldwin
- READ: James Baldwin, “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew” in The Fire
Next Time, New York: Dial Press, 1966.
- READ: James Baldwin, “The White Man’s Guilt” in Ebony, Special issue “The White
Problem in America,” August 1965.
- READ: James Baldwin, “On Being White and Other Lies” in Essence, April 1984

23/09/14: Class 4: Whiteness and Americanness: Toni Morrison (1931-…)

We will read excerpts from the writings of novelist and literary critic Toni Morrison who
analyzed the intricacies of whiteness and Americanness and their implications for Black
people living in the United States. You will also be introduced to the thought of another
prominent female African-American author, bell hooks.
Oral presentation n°3
We will be watching excerpts from interviews of Toni Morrison and bell hooks
- READ: Toni Morrison, chapters “Black Matters” and “Romancing the Shadow” in
Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination, New York: Vintage
Books, 1992

HISTORY

30/09/14: Class 5: The historical construction of whiteness: immigration and

naturalization
We will delve into the history of whiteness as a category and see how its boundaries have
shifted over the years. We will study how groups who were classified as non-whites upon
their arrival in the United States (Italians, Irish, Polish, Jews) progressively became
incorporated into the realm of whiteness. We will reflect on the implications of this shift for
contemporary minority groups such as Arab-Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans.
Oral presentation n°4
- READ: Matthew Frye Jacobson, “Introduction: the Fabrication of Race,” in Whiteness
of a Different Color: European Immigrants and the Alchemy of Race, Harvard
University Press, 1999.
- READ: Karen Brodkin Sacks, “How Did Jews Become White Folks?” in Critical
White Studies: Looking Behind the Mirror, Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic (eds.),
Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1997, pp. 395-401

ETHNOGRAPHY

07/10/14: Class 6 on CLASS: “White Trash” and the uneasy position of the white
working-class
We will focus on the ambiguous social position of poor whites. In a country where white skin
is supposed to entail wealth and privilege, we will see that working-class whites entertain a
complex relationship to their alleged racial privilege.
Oral presentation n°5
- READ: Monica McDermott, “Introduction” and “Experiences of White Racial
Identity,” in Working-Class White: the Making and Unmaking of Race Relations,
Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.

Outline of the Paper Due on October 7th, 2014

14/10/14: Class 7 on SPACE: Detroit, where whites are a minority

We will focus on inner-city Detroit which is 77 percent Black. In a context where whites are a
minority, whiteness suddenly becomes very visible and endowed with different meanings
from the national mainstream.
Oral presentation n°6
We will be watching excerpts of the movie “8-MILE” directed by Curtis Hanson (2002)
- READ: John Hartigan, “Remembering White Detroit: Whiteness in the Mix of History
and Memory,” City and Society, 2000, vol. 12, n°2, pp. 11-34

28/10/14: Class 8 on GENDER: White women, feminism and sexuality

We will study how race and gender intersect to structure the lives of white women in peculiar
ways. You will also be introduced to feminist critiques of whiteness.
Oral presentation n°7
- READ: Ruth Frankenberg, “Introduction,” “White on White: the Interviewees and the
Method,” “Race, Sex and Intimacy 1: Mapping A Discourse” in White Women, Race
Matters, New York: Routledge, 1993

04/11/14: NO CLASS THAT DAY. A MAKE-UP SESSION WILL BE SCHEDULED.

18/11/14: Class 9 on POLITICS: White Supremacists vs. White Anti-Racists

You will read excerpts from the book of sociologist Matthew Hughey who realized a year-
long ethnography of a white nationalist organization and a white anti-racist organization in
order to compare how groups with opposite political agendas relate to their white identity.
Oral presentation n°8
- READ: Matthew Hughey, “Chapter 1: Racists versus Antiracists?” in White Bound:
Nationalists, Anti-Racists and the Shared Meaning of Race, Stanford University Press,
2012
- READ: Matthew W. Hughey, “The (dis)similarities of white racial identities,” Ethnic
and Racial Studies, vol. 33, n°8, pp. 1289-1309

25/11/14: Class 10 on YOUTH CULTURE: Cultureless Whites and Wannabes

We will study how contemporary college youth relate to whiteness. We will see that for many
of them whiteness is seen as cultureless and “uncool,” hence their desire to appropriate others’
cultural styles.
Oral presentation n°9
- READ: Amy C. Wilkins, “Puerto Rican Wannabes: Why don’t they act like who they
really are?” in Wannabes, Goths and Christians: the Boundaries of Sex, Style and
Status, University of Chicago Press, 2008.
02/12/14: Class 11 on RELIGION: White Muslims, an anomaly?
During this class, I will be presenting my own work on the conversion of white Americans to
Islam. This will be an opportunity to reflect on the intricacies of race and religion. I am
looking forward to your feedback!
No presentation that day. Instead, there will be two discussants.
Discussion n°1
Discussion n°2
- READ: Juliette Galonnier, “When White Devils Join the Deen: White American
Converts to Islam and the Experience of Non-Normative Whiteness,” forthcoming
Addressing last paper concerns

TBD: Class 12: Conclusion. What about whiteness in France?

For our last class, we will use what we learned from the American literature to reflect on the
French case. To be sure, the two national contexts are very different and race does not have
the same meaning from one side of the Atlantic to the other. Yet, we will see that whiteness is
also an issue in France, as evidenced from the powerful writings of psychiatrist and essayist
Franz Fanon (1925-1961)
Oral presentation n°10
- READ: Franz Fanon, “Introduction” and “chapter 1: The Negro and Language,” in
Black Skin, White Masks, New York: Grove, 2007 [1952].
- READ: Steve Garner, “The Uses of Whiteness: What Sociologists Working on Europe
Can Draw From US Research on Whiteness,” Sociology, vol. 40, n°2, pp. 257-275
Feedback on the course

Final Paper Due at the End of the Course