The questioning the text papers and class discussion around "Heart of a Chief" made me think of an article that I read when I was in college (and sometimes use with classes). The article is fairly short and (I hope!) interesting.
The article is "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh.
The article introduces the idea of "white privilege": the idea that white people may or may not have had a chance to recognize the significance of race in day to day life. Although McIntosh thinks in terms of race, I think the idea of privilege can be helpful in thinking in more general ways about how those with majority identities sometimes haven't had a chance to explore common experiences of people with socially marginalized identities. In fact, I just came across an article which uses the concept of privilege to think about heterosexual privilege called "The Daily Effects of Straight Privilege".
What do people think? Did anything in McIntosh's article "ring true"? Was there anything that you questioned? What does "privilege" have to do with our identities as readers?
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2 comments:
I cam across this quote from Cynthia Leitich Smith that connects to why I think reading the privilege articles is worthwhile.
"...outsiders will sometimes have to apply themselves to understand some traditions and perspectives. But even with effort, they may not catch everything. That's okay. At least they won't be patronized or cheated of a worldview that isn't all laid out for them. They'll have the opportunity to be uncomfortable now and then, and to work through it."
Lindsay has started an interesting strand of discussion on her blog! http://lindsayste448blog.blogspot.com/2007/09/white-priveldge.html
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