Faculty-Student Collaboration
1
Faculty Sponsor(s)
Piljoo Kang, Ph.D.
Presentation Type
Poster
Project Type
Completed qualitative research study
Primary Department
Psychology
Description
Despite being an important research topic, there is a dearth of empirical studies on how White individuals understand White privilege and their identity. We have conducted qualitative research by interviewing 36 White young adults attending a Southern United States liberal arts college. The interviewees' responses were qualitatively analyzed using keywords and thematic categories and ranged from denial to acceptance of White privilege. White privilege means their successes would no longer be the reward of hard work but the result of an uncontrollable factor: race. In this case, they clarify that their parents or themselves started with nothing and had to work to the top. Meritocracy seems to be a roadblock to achieving a clear understanding of White privilege. Seeing White privilege as a burden or a threat to positive identity makes it harder to address the issue. Engaging in these conversations is necessary to form a healthier construct of White identity.
Copyright Status
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Additional Rights Information
Copyright held by author(s).
Included in
"I don't have White privilege because I worked hard for what I have"
Despite being an important research topic, there is a dearth of empirical studies on how White individuals understand White privilege and their identity. We have conducted qualitative research by interviewing 36 White young adults attending a Southern United States liberal arts college. The interviewees' responses were qualitatively analyzed using keywords and thematic categories and ranged from denial to acceptance of White privilege. White privilege means their successes would no longer be the reward of hard work but the result of an uncontrollable factor: race. In this case, they clarify that their parents or themselves started with nothing and had to work to the top. Meritocracy seems to be a roadblock to achieving a clear understanding of White privilege. Seeing White privilege as a burden or a threat to positive identity makes it harder to address the issue. Engaging in these conversations is necessary to form a healthier construct of White identity.
Rights Statement
Comments
Also presented at Western Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA, April 2024