Whiteness and Women

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Listmembers,
  I am looking for ideas for interactive exercises that teach students
about the social construction of race (focusing on whiteness).  I have
lots of material that I've used in lecture format (e.g., historically
changing conceptualizations of who is white), but am wondering if
anyone knows of activities that can facilitate this awareness but are
more engaging for students? I'm guest lecturing in a "diversity" class
with a group of ethnically diverse, 18-year-old students. I have
activities planned that address white racial identity development and
white privilege, but I want to work this social construction piece too.
Thanks in advance.
 
**************************************************************
Kathleen Brock, M.A.                    (949) 824-6457
Counseling Center                       email:  kbrock  @  uci.edu
University of California-Irvine
Student Services I, Room 202
Irvine, CA  92697-2200
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Many moons ago CBS aired a "White Paper" (this is when news actually meant
something), on race relations.  It is titled, "Eye of the Storm."  It
focused on a grade school teacher who taught her students a lesson in
color bias through eye color.  The class was divided by eye color--blue
eyes, brown eyes.  For the first day the blue eyes were "better".  They
could do things the brown eyes could not--e.g. drink at the water fountain.
The brown eyes had to wear an arm band so they could be recognized at a
distance.  A follow-up was done 20 years later called, "After the Storm".
Oprah had the teacher, who is now retired and working as a consultant, on
her show.
This may work for you.
 
Barbara Maitsuru Hogue
Bibliographic Access Management
Rasmuson Library
University of Alaska Fairbanks
P.O. Box 756811
Fairbanks, Alaska  99775-6811
ffbmh  @  uaf.edu
907.474.7206
907.474.5068 (fax)
 
I can't stand this indecision married with a lack of vision.
                                                             Tears for Fears
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The blue eye-brown eye person may be Jane Elliot, who does workshops on this
theme.  She has been the subject of documentaries such as Eye of the Storm and
Eye of the Beholder.
 
Marilyn Grotzky
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Kathleen, many years ago I developed a tool for analyzing children's
textbooks to uncover what I refer to as "The Subtle Curriculum", which
helps workshop participants identify examples of stereotyping and patterns
of exclusion.  I began by using children's textbooks for grades 1-5,
because these have the greatest numbers of pictues (photos, drawing, and
cartoon characters of people).  There are several steps to the use of the
tool:  1)  global impression, a quick scanning of the book to get an
overal impression of the range of folk represented in picture form (race,
gender, age range);  2) a number count of all pictures of people,
according to a number of categories: Gender, racial/cultural, age range;
and  3) a sheet which asks questions that get at qualitative information
-- what kinds of people are engaged in which types of tasks; who is
helping who; how are people of different races/cultures/class portrayed?,
what about people with disabilities, pregnant women, etc.
 
One interesting aspect of the tool has been my own evolution in terms of
terms!  Initially (1969) I categorized people as White, Black, Brown,
Yellow;  A few years later, I changed to Caucasion, Black, Brown, Yellow,
Indian.  Later still, I changed the form to Caucasion, African-American,
Asian American, Native American, and Hispanic.  I always also had a
category of Other.  What I have come to realize some years back, is that
all these terms are flawed!  One problem is that there is no consistency
1)  -- Caucasion is a racial term -- but we no longer use the other two
related terms (Negroid or Mongoloid) so why is Caucasion still in use?
2)  African, Asian, and Native speak to continent of Origin, rather than
race, but, folks can live in US or elsewhere, having come from Africa, and
not be of the Black African heritage;  3) Black and White and yllow are
colors, but we no longer use yellow or red, so why black and white?  4)
Hispanic is a culture, not a race, color, or even country of orgian.
Problematic terms.  What I now use consistently, although not entirely
satisfactorily, is continent of apparent origin.  with clarification that
there is no simple term!
 
Let me know if you want more information.
 
PLEASE NOTE NEW EMAIL ADDRESS -  jacpeace  @  user3.stritch.edu
 
Peace, Jackie
Jacqueline Haessly  (former email-jacpeace  @  acs.stritch.edu)   Image Peace!
________________________________________________________________________
 
                          Peacemaking Associates
 
2437 N. Grant Blvd.        Milwaukee, WI            5321O-2941
Phone:  414-445-9736                                Fax:  414-444-7319
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Because so many of you asked, I'm sending an update regarding replies to
my query about classroom activities highlighting the social construction
of whiteness.  What seems apparent is that there is immense interest in
this topic!  However, no one seems to have any such exercise, so I guess
there's work to be done.  Several people forwarded suggestions for other
types of exercises related to whiteness, but none specifically targeted
the idea of social construction. There is very good historical info on
this topic in Paul Kivel's _Uprooting Racism_.
 
For those who are interested in related work, folks sent the following
suggestions:
 
1.  Reference to Peggy MacIntosh's essay on white privilege (which can be
found in Margaret Andersen & Patricia Hill Collins anthology _Race, Class,
and Gender_.  This could be easily made into an exercise in which small
groups of students might be asked to generate their own examples of white
privilege.
 
2.   Exercises highlighting stereotypes, including those found in
children's textbooks.
 
3.  Reference to a number of very good videos, including "Skin Deep," "A
Class Divided," "The Color of Fear," and "Ethnic Notions."
 
4.  Reference to the new-ish edited book by Michelle Fine et al. _Off
White_.
 
If anyone would like details regarding these suggestions, please let me
know.
 
With regard to the white racial identity models (see work by Janet Helms,
Robert Carter, etc.), I'm planning an activity in which students
receive cards with "characteristic statements, beliefs, attitudes" and
work as a class to assign these to the appropriate WRID status/level.
 
Thank you all for your suggestions and your interest.
***************************************************************
Kathleen Brock, M.A.                    (949) 824-6457
Counseling Center                       email:  kbrock  @  uci.edu
University of California-Irvine
Student Services I, Room 202
Irvine, CA  92697-2200
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Sorry to be late with this - but those interested in "Whiteness Exercises"
would probably find Alice McIntyre's book of interest - It's Called MAKING
MEANING OF WHITENESS with the subtitle Exploring Racial Identity with
White Teachers - SUNY Press, 1997.
 
Paula Rothenberg    The New Jersey Project on Inclusive
            Scholarship, Curriculum, and Teaching
            William Paterson University
            Wayne, New Jersey 07470
            Phone: (973) 720 - 2296 Fax: (973) 720 - 2974
            rothenbe  @  pilot.njin.net
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along with the suggestions for different videos to show that help
explain issues of power and priviledge, i would recommend the video
blue eyed with jane elliot.  i have shown both skin deep and blue eyed
in my english 101 classes and the students respond more intensely to
blue eyed than to skin deep.  when i show blue eyed i don't explain
anything but to ask that the students keep an open mind to the
excersise in the video.  each of my last three classes have all felt
that blue eyed was more effective than skin deep and felt that
everyone should see the video.
 
carlos adams
washington state university
adams  @  wsunix.wsu.edu
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