>I have this uncomfortable feeling that the natural trajectory of the
>academic discourse on 'whiteness' is that someone will start to
>argue that the white identity was not all bad, and that it ought to
>be recuperated. White guilt, white persecution complex, white
>megalomania ... it's just one long slippery slope.
>
>Better to insist upon the universalist goal of an all-embracing
>humanism, I say.
Your concern is well founded, as "whiteness studies" can degenerate into endless navel gazing by white scholars and/or ironic celebration of (or backhanded compliment on) cultural artefacts of working-class white folks.
The conference in question, however, features scholars whose works I respect, like Barbara Fields and Linda Gordon. -- Yoshie
* Calendar of Anti-War Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html> * Anti-War Activist Resources: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html> * Anti-War Organizing in Columbus Covered by the Media: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/media.html>