Sociology ETDs

Publication Date

Summer 8-1-2023

Abstract

Through this project, I utilize multiple approaches to disrupt whiteness. I make a case for centering Indigenous and non-Western methods, such as testimonio in sociological studies, to disrupt the academic whiteness of knowledge creation and validation. Whiteness itself is amorphous and looks different depending on circumstances, location, who holds power, and context (Hughey 2016). Utilizing a theory of racialized organizations, I shed light on how whiteness is normalized in education institutions through race-neutral, everyday actions (Ray 2019). This further disrupts whiteness by rendering it visible. Finally, I highlight the different modes of resistance that educational activists use to disrupt whiteness. This includes traditional organizing strategies such as power analysis, asset mapping, and actions that target the most powerful actors within the school district. I further theorize community care as a non-traditional form of resistance to white supremacy and illustrate how this is centered and what it looks like in action.

Degree Name

Sociology

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Sociology

First Committee Member (Chair)

Nancy Lopez

Second Committee Member

Ranita Ray

Third Committee Member

Elizabeth Korver-Glenn

Fourth Committee Member

Nolan L. Cabrera

Keywords

educational justice, racialized organizations, testimonios, Indigenous methods, community organizing, whiteness

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

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