The Strengths and Limitations of Critical Whiteness Studies
Whiteness studies is an emerging field of discourse, arising in the late 20th Century in both the US and the UK respectively. It can be viewed as a concrete body of literature which exposes the importance of considering whiteness and white privilege in contemporary society, as well as alerting us to the ways in which systems of white privilege operate, and how white racial identity is constructed (Byrne 2006; Dyer 1997; Frankenberg 2001; Garner 2007; McIntosh 1988). I will explore the strengths of critical whiteness studies and I will offer an explanation as to how critical whiteness studies is applied to render whiteness visible, disrupt white privilege and racism, and problematise whiteness. I will also examine the limitations of the discourse, such as how it can be said to re-centre and reify whiteness, and how it may not achieve anti-racist aims. My own view on the contributions of critical whiteness studies will be posited with reference to contemporary examples. Firstl...