Reproducing Whiteness: How White Students Justify the Campus Racial Status Quo

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to examine how Whiteness functions to underwrite and maintain racially hostile campus climates. Utilizing narrative inquiry, results illuminate two rhetorical devices that White students utilized to rationalize and justify the racial status quo: Narratives of Campus Racial Harmony and Narratives of Imposition. Results highlight how well-intentioned, educated White students contribute to the maintenance and reproduction of Whiteness.