Description
Discover the groundbreaking book, 'The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself', an essential read for anyone grappling with the narratives that uphold white supremacy and sustain systemic racism. This compelling exploration by David Mura delves into the historical and fictional stories that white America tells itself, providing critical insights into the unjust structures rooted in American history. Focusing on pivotal events such as the police murders of Philando Castile and George Floyd, this book offers a searing examination of how these narratives seek to erase the brutality of America's past while perpetuating injustices in the present.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press in 2023, 'The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself' intertwines history, literature, and personal narratives to reflect on the foundational myths of white supremacy. From Jefferson's defense of slavery to Lincoln's minimized racism, Mura adeptly shows how entrenched beliefs in white superiority marginalize Black narratives and experiences. With a profound analysis of literature, Mura compares the portrayals of race in works like Faulkner and Morrison, offering a critical lens on how Whiteness is constructed through distorted representations.
This book is a call to confront the uncomfortable truths of America's racial history and challenge the systemic inequities that persist today. A must-read for educators, activists, and anyone interested in social justice, 'The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself' is an invaluable resource for understanding the complexities of race in America.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled. Condition: BRAND NEW. ISBN: 9781517914547.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9781517914547
Year: 2023
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
Description:
Uncovering the pernicious narratives white people create to justify white supremacy and sustain racist oppression The police murders of two Black men, Philando Castile and George Floyd, frame this searing exploration of the historical and fictional narratives that white America tells itself to justify and maintain white supremacy. From the country’s founding through the summer of Black Lives Matter in 2020, David Mura unmasks how white stories about race attempt to erase the brutality of the past and underpin systemic racism in the present.
Intertwining history, literature, ethics, and the deeply personal, Mura looks back to foundational narratives of white supremacy (Jefferson’s defense of slavery, Lincoln’s frequently minimized racism, and the establishment of Jim Crow) to show how white identity is based on shared belief in the pernicious myths, false histories, and racially segregated fictions that allow whites to deny their culpability in past atrocities and current inequities. White supremacy always insists white knowledge is superior to Black knowledge, Mura argues, and this belief dismisses the truths embodied in Black narratives.
Mura turns to literature, comparing the white savior portrayal of the film Amistad to the novelization of its script by the Black novelist Alexs Pate, which focuses on its African protagonists; depictions of slavery in Faulkner and Morrison; and race’s absence in the fiction of Jonathan Franzen and its inescapable presence in works by ZZ Packer, tracing the construction of Whiteness to willfully distorted portraits of race in America. In James Baldwin’s essays, Mura fi
Published by the University of Minnesota Press in 2023, 'The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself' intertwines history, literature, and personal narratives to reflect on the foundational myths of white supremacy. From Jefferson's defense of slavery to Lincoln's minimized racism, Mura adeptly shows how entrenched beliefs in white superiority marginalize Black narratives and experiences. With a profound analysis of literature, Mura compares the portrayals of race in works like Faulkner and Morrison, offering a critical lens on how Whiteness is constructed through distorted representations.
This book is a call to confront the uncomfortable truths of America's racial history and challenge the systemic inequities that persist today. A must-read for educators, activists, and anyone interested in social justice, 'The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself' is an invaluable resource for understanding the complexities of race in America.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled. Condition: BRAND NEW. ISBN: 9781517914547.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9781517914547
Year: 2023
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
Description:
Uncovering the pernicious narratives white people create to justify white supremacy and sustain racist oppression The police murders of two Black men, Philando Castile and George Floyd, frame this searing exploration of the historical and fictional narratives that white America tells itself to justify and maintain white supremacy. From the country’s founding through the summer of Black Lives Matter in 2020, David Mura unmasks how white stories about race attempt to erase the brutality of the past and underpin systemic racism in the present.
Intertwining history, literature, ethics, and the deeply personal, Mura looks back to foundational narratives of white supremacy (Jefferson’s defense of slavery, Lincoln’s frequently minimized racism, and the establishment of Jim Crow) to show how white identity is based on shared belief in the pernicious myths, false histories, and racially segregated fictions that allow whites to deny their culpability in past atrocities and current inequities. White supremacy always insists white knowledge is superior to Black knowledge, Mura argues, and this belief dismisses the truths embodied in Black narratives.
Mura turns to literature, comparing the white savior portrayal of the film Amistad to the novelization of its script by the Black novelist Alexs Pate, which focuses on its African protagonists; depictions of slavery in Faulkner and Morrison; and race’s absence in the fiction of Jonathan Franzen and its inescapable presence in works by ZZ Packer, tracing the construction of Whiteness to willfully distorted portraits of race in America. In James Baldwin’s essays, Mura fi