ABSTRACT
One important recent development in the study of race and ethnic relations is the emergence of “whiteness” as an area of investigation. “Whiteness studies” is part of an interdisciplinary project that brings together insights from fields as diverse as legal studies, history, cultural studies, anthropology, education, and sociology.1What is new and unique about “whiteness studies” is that it reverses the traditional focus of research on race relations by concentrating attention upon the socially constructed nature of white identity and the impact of whiteness upon intergroup relations. In contrast to the usual practice of studying the “problem” of “minority groups,” the “whiteness studies” paradigm makes problematic the identity and practices of the dominant group (Gabriel 1998).
