‘But you’re white’: An autoethnography of whiteness and white privilege in East Asian universities

It is well established within the field of Critical Whiteness Studies that white privilege routinely materialises in Western universities. Yet, even though a third wave of Critical Whiteness Studies is increasingly focussing on whiteness in non-Western contexts, there has been insufficient attention toward whether white privilege also exists in East Asian universities. This article seeks to explore this issue by offering an autoethnography in which the author, a mixed-race academic who is racialised as white on some occasions and as a person of colour on others, critically interrogates whiteness in East Asian higher education. It is argued that those who are racialised as white are privileged in East Asian universities and may even seek to actively sustain this. In departing from the dominant understanding of whiteness as always-and-only privileging, this article also explores the extent to which white academics in East Asia may also be disadvantaged by their whiteness.

Heterotopian Disorientation: Intersectionality in William Oldroyd’s Lady Macbeth

This article reads William Oldroyd’s Lady Macbeth (2016) through the lens of Michel Foucault’s concept of the heterotopia to explore the film’s ambivalent gender and racial politics. The country house that Katherine Lester is locked away in forms a quasi-heterotopia, mediated through a disorienting cinematography of incarceration. Although she manages to transgress the ideological boundaries surrounding her, she simultaneously contributes to the oppression of her Black housemaid, Anna. On the one hand, the film suggests that the coercive space of the colony—another Foucauldian heterotopia—may threaten white hegemony: While Mr Lester’s Black, illegitimate son Teddy almost manages to claim his inheritance and, hence, contest the racialised master/servant relationship of the country house, Anna’s voice threatens to cause Katherine’s downfall. On the other hand, through eventually denying Anna’s and Teddy’s agency, Lady Macbeth exposes the pervasiveness of intersectional forms of oppression that are at play in both Victorian and twenty-first-century Britain. The constant spatial disorientation that the film produces, this article suggests, not only identifies blind spots in Foucault’s writings on heterotopian space as far as intersectionality is concerned, but also speaks to white privilege as a vital concern of both twenty-first-century feminism and neo-Victorian criticism.

White People Problems? White Privilege Beliefs Predict Attitudes Toward Confederate Symbols

Building upon Intergroup Threat Theory and research on group-level empathy, we tested the relationship between White privilege beliefs and White Americans’ attitudes toward Confederate symbols. In three experiments, participants induced to think about White privilege exhibited more opposition to Confederate symbols, perceived less realistic threat to their group’s power/resources and symbolic threat to their group’s values/identity from the prospect of these symbols being removed, and (in Study 2) felt more empathetic toward racial/ethnic minorities who may view these symbols. Further, a meta-analytic path analysis across studies demonstrated that the effect of White privilege reminders on opposition to Confederate symbols was driven by reduced realistic and symbolic threat, as well as greater outgroup empathy.

’The Trump Era is Here, and I Finally Feel at Home‘ – Sayed Kashua in Illinois

In early July 2014, the Israeli-Palestinian author Sayed Kashua declared in his popular Hebrew column in the Ha’aretz newspaper that he is done with Jerusalem, that he has moved to the United States for good and is never coming back. Despite this emotional statement and his decision to give up on Israel, Kashua continued to write his popular weekly column for over three years mostly from his new place of residence in the midwestern city of Champaign, in Illinois, a location vastly different from the Jerusalem he left behind. Using theories of migration and transnational writing to examine Kashua’s non-fictional Hebrew and English works during this period I argue that there is tension between the character Kashua assumes for his Israeli readership and the one he assumes when writing for an American audience. These fictional personae relate differently to the move to the US and the possibility of returning to Israel. Moreover, Kashuua’s Israeli persona continues to write from a minority position whereas his American counterpart, despite concerted efforts, cannot avoid identifying with white privilege. The article then traces the dissolution of Kashua’s dual personae to his decision in November 2017 to stop writing the weekly column.

The future of global health is inclusive and anti-racist

In global health, a discipline with a racist and colonial history, white supremacy, white privilege and racism are still present today. 1 Although many believe we are witnessing a resurgence of racism in global health, because of a recent rise of extreme right comments and racism in the community and online 2 , 3 . In reality racism has always been an inherent aspect of global health and its predecessors: tropical health and international health by prioritizing the health issues of the colonizers over those of the native populations. 4 As such, we are rather bearing witness to long standing issues that have been persistently overlooked. There is a need for a paradigm shift to enable true authentic leadership that promotes the values of our shared humanity.

Toward belonging and mutual hospitality: decentering whiteness in the “new normal”

PurposeThe postquarantine reopening of public libraries presents an opportunity for resetting the way libraries welcome patrons. Unfortunately, vestiges of inhospitable, white supremacist practices experienced in public libraries may accompany the “return to normal.” In addition to emphasizing policies and practices that are unwelcoming to patrons and staff from historically marginalized backgrounds, this article presents actions to be employed in an effort to transition the library to a place of belonging and hospitality for marginalized staff and community members.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on a synthesis of the literature on hospitality in libraries and antiracism as well as the author's experience from professional practice to critique the host-and-guest concept of hospitality, which results in us versus them actions that uphold racism, white supremacy and white privilege.FindingsBarriers and institutional practices that negatively impact patrons and library workers are illuminated. Recommendations for creating an antiracist “new normal” in public libraries are proposed.Originality/valueIn addition to contributing to the literature on hospitality in libraries, this paper expands the capacity and knowledge base of library staff to call attention to and dismantle barriers and uninviting practices in their own libraries. The paper further advances mutual hospitality as a supplement to antiracism principles as libraries work to eradicate white supremacy.

Distributing Whiteness: Please Like Me and Global Television Circulation

This essay examines the formal and informal distribution of Australian dramedy Please Like Me via the now-defunct American digital cable channel Pivot and via fan communities on Tumblr. I argue that structural whiteness operates as an invisible engine at the heart of Please Like Me’s distribution. My analysis unpacks how an unexamined narrative of white privilege forms the backbone of Please Like Me’s diegesis, fandom’s investment in circulating the show, and Pivot’s alignment of the show with its supposedly socially conscious brand. Examining trade press, promotional material, and fan discourse, I demonstrate how structural whiteness functions as point of intersection between industry and fan-driven distribution.