Decolonise UoM

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.  Firstly, it is

The Auntie: liberal, big fan of Biden, can’t shake a fundamental dislike of Dianne Abbott. How on earth did we get here! Where did it all go wrong for this country? Pack it up Jess Phillips, we get it! You like when you don’t have to develop your lexicon beyond ‘white privilege’, and you really LOVED the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony. Sorry to break it to you, but this country has been dystopian since… forever. In this nostalgia for some form of golden age, the right and soft left/centre have become bedfellows. This family member might not have experienced it, but the lived experience of migrants, refugees, people of colour, and the working class refute any claim that this country has recently lost something, some form of humanity or inherent goodness. An example is the tragedy of Grenfell Tower, in 2017. The conditions that led to this crisis did not appear overnight. The highly flammable cladding placed on tower blocks like Grenfell Tower, began under the government of Tony Blair, a

It’s Christmas Day, your vegan/vegetarian option is going down, you’re sat back, listening to the hum of background chatter from relatives, and you’re starting to wonder; maybe feminists were right about the family. Christmas is the time when we’re all made to feel like the only leftie in the world, right? Suddenly billionaires are good people, trans people are predators, the police aren’t racist, and the left? Actually, incredibly dangerous anarchists, who want to rip up the entirety of society’s fabric (If only!), having penetrated all institutions of society with their pronouns, Marxism, hatred for the police and more, despite having a neoliberal society, a far-right government, and racist, sexist, and transphobic headlines hitting the front of the media… every day. ‘Culture war’ is the word on everyone’s lips, young and old, and no one can decide who is more sensitive; the person who believes anyone can have the pronouns they want, and absolute respect and protection of them, or th