“Untangling Whiteness: Reflection and Action”

Month: September 2020

In May, I had a conversation with a colleague about possible events to host at the Lillian E. Smith Center, especially during a pandemic with limited travel. He suggested a symposium focused on whiteness since Smith’s work explores both the construction and deconstruction of whiteness. We had this conversation after the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. After the murder of Breonna Taylor. Before the murder … Read More “Untangling Whiteness: Reflection and Action”

September 23, 2020 + 1619 project, daniel webster, david walker, ethiop, sally hemmings, thomas jefferson, william apess, william j wilson, william wells brown

The “True” American History: Part II

by Matthew Teutsch

The White House Conference on American History, as I pointed out in my last post, continued the narrative that God divinely sanctioned America and its founding. This narrative presents the Founding Fathers as devoutly Christian and purposefully focused on making American a “Christian” nation; however, that is not necessarily the case, and even if its is, as Lillian Smith points out in “The White … Read More The “True” American History: Part II

September 21, 2020 + donald trump, frederick douglass, john marrant, martin luther king, jr, omar ibn said, thomas jefferson, what to the slave is the fourth of july?, white jesus: the architecture of racism and religion and education

The “True” American History?: Part I

by Matthew Teutsch

Speaking at the White House Conference on American History, Trump stated, “On this very day in 1787, our Founding Fathers signed the Constitution at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. It was the fulfillment of a thousand years of Western civilization.” In this statement, and throughout the entire event, speakers railed against the the destruction of the “true” history of America’s founding and growth. They spoke … Read More The “True” American History?: Part I

September 17, 2020 + aaron campbell, comics, graphic novels, infidel, jose villarrubia, lillian e smith, pornsak pichetshote, the right way is not the moderate way

Reflections of the Self in “Infidel”

by Matthew Teutsch

As I prepared to teach Pornsak Pichetshote, Aaron Campbell, and Jose Villarrubia’s Infidel, a lot of things stuck out. However, when I reread the haunted house story where the monsters that terrorize the characters are the manifestations of racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia, I became intrigued by a few specific scenes where the monsters appear in the reflections of objects such as knives and mirrors. … Read More Reflections of the Self in “Infidel”

September 15, 2020 + civil rights, james baldwin, jim demonakos, mark long, nate powell, silence is violence, texas state university, the silence of our friends

Psychological Effects of Racism in “The Silence of Our Friends”

by Matthew Teutsch

Over the last two posts, I’ve looked at some scenes in Mark Long, Jim Demonakos, and Nate Powell’s The Silence of Our Friends. Today, I want to wrap up that discussion by examining a sequence where Larry takes Danny to Freeport to go crabbing. There are countless other sequences and scenes that I could discuss, but every time I read The Silence of Our … Read More Psychological Effects of Racism in “The Silence of Our Friends”

Interminable Rambling

“Untangling Whiteness: Reflection and Action”

Month: September 2020