Call for Papers : Critical Whiteness Studies Methodologies

This call for papers grew out of the efforts of the White Spaces Postgraduate Network that is connecting students engaged in critical whiteness studies. In the inaugural PGR conference New Territories in Critical Whiteness Studies (August 2010, University of Leeds) one of the issues raised was the need to address methodological challenges in critical whiteness studies. One of the initiatives we have already undertaken is the organisation of a virtual seminar entitled Discourse Analytical Approaches towards Uncovering Power Relations, with a specific focus on Race/Whiteness (January, 2011). Our endeavours are further reflected in this call; therefore we wish to invite MSc/MA/MS, MPhil, PhD students and junior academics from all geographic regions to contribute to the further investigation and development of the complexities of this field.This special issue of Graduate Journal of Social Science (GJSS) is open to any contributions intended to give fresh and creative insights on methodological approaches in critical whiteness studies. This includes (but is not limited to):

  • The development and applications of theory, within and across disciplines that open new territories in critical whiteness studies; the innovative use of methods, presentation of emerging ones and application of mixed methods used in researching unequal power relations with a specific focus on race/whiteness and accompanying intersections
  • new directions in data collection and analysis
  • approaches to writing about whiteness critically and the dissemination of knowledge within and outside academia
  • creative approaches in researching visual materials and questioning privileges of normativity and whiteness
  • strategies for collective and participatory research that can be insightful and thought-provoking for critical whiteness studies
  • ontological and epistemological questions and challenges in researching whiteness critically that include issues around reflexivity, knowledge production and discursive frameworks in critical whiteness studies
  • scholars’ personal challenges and critical self-reflections in doing critical whiteness studies