From Individual Prejudice to Structured Racism: Race, Whiteness, and Critical Sociology

• In Event: 25.034 - Division G Vice-Presidential Session. Race(ing) Across the Disciplines: How Research in Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, and Law Understands Race and Racism

Abstract

Like any discipline, sociology has veins of scholarship that reinforce racism and some that accurately assess, theorize, and challenge White supremacy. This presentation explores the history of racial analysis in sociology, in particular the 1990s and early 2000s where theorists like Bonilla-Silva, Feagin, Lewis, and Forman, moved the larger discourse around racism from an issue of individual prejudice to one of structured racial oppression. In particular, this presentation will explore the development and applications of concepts such as color-blind ideology, the White racial frame, and White apathy. It will also demonstrate how these analyses and theorizing have influenced disciplines outside of sociology, particularly education. By charting this territory, the presentation will also offer some thoughts on the next iteration of sociologically-based racial analyses, especially given the re-emergence of overt racism in response to the Trump Administration, keeping this vein of the discipline fresh, cutting edge, and socially transformative.

Author

• Nolan L. Cabrera, The University of Arizona