Look, A White!: Philosophical Essays on Whiteness

by George Yancy

Look, a White! returns the problem of whiteness to white people.

Genres: Philosophy, Race, Nonfiction, Essays, Theory, Politics

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

George Yancy, Professor of Philosophy at Emory University, works primarily in the areas of critical philosophy of race, critical whiteness studies, and philosophy of the Black experience. He is particularly interested in the formation of African-American philosophical thought as articulated within the social and historical space of anti-Black racism, African-American agency, and questions of identity formation. His current work focuses on the theme of whiteness and how it constitutes a site of embedded social reality and a site of deep and enduring opacity, which is related to what he has theorized as white ambush. He is interested in the ways in which whiteness as an embodied phenomenon is a reality underwritten by historical forces and practices. Hence, he takes history seriously as an ever present force through which bodies are positioned. He is interested in themes such as white subject formation, white epistemic ways of knowing/not knowing, privilege and hegemony, and forms of white spatial bonding as sites of white solidarity and interpellation (or hailing). He is also interested in how such forms of white epistemic and bodily bonding are underwritten by white intelligibility. Yancy explores the theme of racial embodiment, particularly in terms of how white bodies live their whiteness unreflectively in relationship to the deformation of the black body and other bodies of color. He sees the two as relational. Within this context, his work explores Black Erlebnis or the lived experience of black people, which raises important questions regarding Black subjectivity, modes of Black spatial mobility, ontological truncation, and embodied resistance. He has theorized critical processes of what he terms suturing and un-suturing and how both concepts are linked to questions of embodiment and spatiality. Yancy is also interested in the intersection between philosophy and biography. More specifically, he is interested in questions regarding philosophical self-formation, that is, how philosophers come to believe what they believe and how such belief formations/configurations are linked to historical, cultural, racial, and gendered processes. Yancy is also interested in ways to engage philosophy dynamically, to practice frank speech or courageous speech, within and outside the classroom. Yancy's publications are varied and extensive. He has authored, edited, and co-edited numerous books, articles, and chapters. His work has been quoted worldwide, including in Turkey, Australia, South Africa, and Sweden. He is known for his powerful and influential conversations with philosophers on race at The Stone, New York Times. Yancy is also "Philosophy of Race" Book Series Editor at Lexington Books.

Reviews

[Yuvi S Sandhu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally changed my perception as I read through it. Once you see things, you can't unsee them. I would recommend highly.

[Anjali · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The entire philosophical performance, with all of its props, constitutes a site of effective (white) history, a history that points to a continuous chain of white men 'jerking off' with wild gesticulations, hands flailing while delineating some supposedly grand philosophical distinctions or while articulating a philosophical system that eventually comes to elide its human face. Trained to do philosophy in such normative spaces (that is, white spaces), young white philosophers (men and women) come to inhabit academic spaces without question, without critical self-reflexivity, without readjusting their white gazes."

[0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

the concluding paragraph:

[Jeff Samuelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not bad as a book on sociology of race, although not great either. I think the author has a fundamental misconception of what “philosophy” is though. Using words like epistemic and using quotes from Heidegger does not philosophy make.

[Harris Layson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was inspired to read this book after I did my NF article of the week about white privilege in immigration. I was specifically intrigued by how people like Nicole Kidman did not apologize or show sympathy after she clearly exploited her privileged status. Thus, I read this book hoping to learn more about the idea of "Tarrying" I had heard about in other schools' debate cases. I actually really liked this book as it expanded the concept of how I think about privilege. Specifically, whiteness is not just skin color. Instead, it refers to a dominant position in society that could be occupied along the lines of class, gender, etc. A Japanese Imperialist could be considered "white" in the same way that Christopher Columbus was.
Now, I will expand on the idea of Tarrying here. Tarrying is a confrontational process that aims to reduce structural inequalities by increasing the discomfort of certain privileged people. This forces them to recognize their complicity in the structure and could force them to take a step back and retreat from this position of power. By finding specific areas where people become uncomfortable, we can pinpoint specific structures. For example, people read this argument in Debate as a justification for Universal Healthcare. The justification for this was that the reason we don't have Universal Healthcare now or expanded medicare is that the policy would also help black Americans. Specifically, support for medicare significantly decreased amongst voters as soon as it became called "ObamaCare".
Because the point of the book is to make white people uncomfortable, I naturally recommend it to other white people, specifically those in my grade. The point is not to create a large amount of guilt and hate themselves, but to want to improve. This book serves as a really excellent introduction to a lot of themes such as oppression, whiteness, and privilege. There is very little jargon, thus it is also more accessible.

[srey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE

[Mills College Library]

305.8 Y21 2012