Smith, L. (2020). White Fragility. Critical Questions in Education, 11(1), 95–100. Link to full text
- A reflection on my (the author's) reactions to DiAngelo's White Fragility. In this piece, I select themes and discuss their function in their work to achieve DiAngelo's goal of uncovering her own White Fragility. The themes I speak about are DiAngelo's use of the tool of story and how it functions to uncover a White lens valuing objectivity; uncovering the White Lens as a critique of self; and barriers to understanding White complicity, namely the White lens itself, and valuing the myth of objectivity and individualization obscuring Whiteness. In honouring my own story and journey, I aim to be more upfront about my Whiteness and my lenses that have brought me to where I am, so that I may share my viewpoint with others who may be considering embarking on their own journey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Evans-Winters, V. E., & Hines, D. E. (2020). Unmasking white fragility: How whiteness and White student resistance impacts anti-racist education. Whiteness & Education, 5(1), 1–16. https://doi-org.sandiego.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/23793406.2019.1675182
- The authors analyse how white undergraduate pre-service teachers resist anti-racist teacher education courses, and how acts of white fragility and white student resistance are employed against Black female professors. In this discussion, we draw from our experiences as two Black women faculty at two predominately white institutions (PWI). Using Critical Race Feminism we discuss how white student resistance is manifested in social interactions with Black female faculty, and how the racialized and gendered spaces of higher education, specifically teacher education, impacts teaching and learning. We introduce a conceptual framework for elucidating white student resistance using psychological and sociological concepts including 1) passive-aggressive behaviours, 2) groupthink, 3) lynch mob, and 4) bystander's effect. This article advances scholarship on white student resistance to non-hegemonic curriculum in higher education, and how whiteness structures student's ability to develop anti-racist praxis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]