Some Are More Equal than Others: Lessons on Whiteness from School

In this chapter I build on Woody Doane’s critical appraisal of the whiteness literature (Chapter 1 in this volume) to argue for the necessity of further research and to contribute several theoretical concepts that I thinkwill enrich sociological research on whiteness. As Margaret Andersen (Chapter 2 in this volume) argues, the lack of a sociological perspective within the whiteness literature has too often meant a lack of focus on the “material reality of racial stratification.” However, despite agreeing with many of the very real concerns she raises about the field of whiteness studies, I think that there are good reasons (many of those laid out by Doane) to continue to place whiteness under sociological scrutiny. Such research does face some quite real challenges.