The Power of Ignorance - Epistemic Construction of whiteness in Secondary Schools in Germany
(2023) SIMZ51 20231Graduate School
- Abstract
- Whiteness maintains an “invisible” and often unquestioned normative position
within the German society in general and the educational system in particular.
Previous research in Critical whiteness Studies has highlighted the importance of
directing attention toward whiteness as a system of knowledge and power to
effectively counteract its concealed nature and dismantle its normative position.
This thesis aims to follow up this project by investigating the less explored
educational context in Germany. To achieve this, I conducted 9 semi-structured
interviews with white staff members in secondary schools located in Nord-Rhein-
Westfalia. These interviews served as a textual base for a Critical Discourse
Analysis. The findings... (More) - Whiteness maintains an “invisible” and often unquestioned normative position
within the German society in general and the educational system in particular.
Previous research in Critical whiteness Studies has highlighted the importance of
directing attention toward whiteness as a system of knowledge and power to
effectively counteract its concealed nature and dismantle its normative position.
This thesis aims to follow up this project by investigating the less explored
educational context in Germany. To achieve this, I conducted 9 semi-structured
interviews with white staff members in secondary schools located in Nord-Rhein-
Westfalia. These interviews served as a textual base for a Critical Discourse
Analysis. The findings indicate the presence of four main discourses (“Denial and
color evasiveness”, “Us – Them”, “Negative depiction of others” and “White
saviorism”) working in close interconnection to create and reproduce a broader
epistemology of whiteness. Of notable importance is the role of white ignorance as
a tool to sustain the supremacist position of whiteness in supposedly non-racist
societies. This discursive formation is embedded in and facilitated by the structure
of the German educational system driven by the intention to uphold the existing
status quo. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9135449
- author
- Covic, Linus LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SIMZ51 20231
- year
- 2023
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- critical whiteness studies, white ignorance, education, critical discourse analysis
- language
- English
- id
- 9135449
- date added to LUP
- 2023-09-14 15:24:22
- date last changed
- 2023-09-14 15:24:22
@misc{9135449, abstract = {{Whiteness maintains an “invisible” and often unquestioned normative position within the German society in general and the educational system in particular. Previous research in Critical whiteness Studies has highlighted the importance of directing attention toward whiteness as a system of knowledge and power to effectively counteract its concealed nature and dismantle its normative position. This thesis aims to follow up this project by investigating the less explored educational context in Germany. To achieve this, I conducted 9 semi-structured interviews with white staff members in secondary schools located in Nord-Rhein- Westfalia. These interviews served as a textual base for a Critical Discourse Analysis. The findings indicate the presence of four main discourses (“Denial and color evasiveness”, “Us – Them”, “Negative depiction of others” and “White saviorism”) working in close interconnection to create and reproduce a broader epistemology of whiteness. Of notable importance is the role of white ignorance as a tool to sustain the supremacist position of whiteness in supposedly non-racist societies. This discursive formation is embedded in and facilitated by the structure of the German educational system driven by the intention to uphold the existing status quo.}}, author = {{Covic, Linus}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{The Power of Ignorance - Epistemic Construction of whiteness in Secondary Schools in Germany}}, year = {{2023}}, }