Untangling Whiteness: Education, Resistance and Transformation

Book excerpt: With the prominence of workshops, trainings, and anti-racist books popping up over the past few years, it may seem confusing as to what it really means to engage in deliberate and meaningful learning that challenges the many facets of racism and whiteness. 'Untangling Whiteness' directly interrogates the assumption that the teaching and learning about race and whiteness, particularly within the university context, can be condensed to one course, one workshop, or even a few trainings. It is a life-long process that may begin in one university classroom, but must continue as part of who we are as unfinished and undetermined beings. Through a deep and multi-faceted interrogation of racism and white supremacy, this book untangles critical theories of race, whiteness and resistance in an accessible and dialogical manner. It also situates whiteness in Aotearoa, New Zealand, demonstrating the importance of context and location when working to undermine and challenge it. As a theoretical provocation of existing scholarship on race and white supremacy, 'Untangling Whiteness' is underpinned by educating for critical consciousness, as well as a phenomenological engagement that aims to both interpret the world differently and transform it.