Social Sciences Book Review: Study Questions from Readings

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Study Questions from Readings
In “Name Calling: Objectifying ‘Poor Whites’ and ‘White Trash’ in Detroit,” John Hartigan presents an ethnographic dilemma presented by the critique of whiteness and explores the conflation of race and class in Warrendale, Michigan. According to Hartigan, it is important to recognize the heterogeneity of whiteness emerging from interpretive uses in a novel and divergent context featuring subtle conflations of the race with the class as well as place-specific discourses. The author is concerned that efforts to reveal the authenticity of the white culture may subjugate the recognition of various forms of racial significance in varying circumstances of whites living in South and North America and those in the Caribbean. In Warrendale, Michigan, there was an observed emotional conflict as the Board of Education in Detroit decided to reopen schools such as the Malcolm X Academy with an Afrocentric curriculum. These schools were previously closed due to a lack of funds. Kevin, one of the serious opponents of the Malcolm X Academy, notes that the Warrendale community has changed from being racial to becoming a people living together in the community (Hartigan 45). The...