i Angela Lynn Putman Communication and Journalism This dissertation is approved, and it is

258 Pages·2014·3.24 MB·English

by  Angela Putman

i

Angela Lynn Putman
Candidate

Communication and Journalism
Department

This dissertation is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication:

Approved by the Dissertation Committee:

Dr. Mary Jane Collier, Chairperson

Dr. Ilia Rodriguez

Dr. Myra Washington

Dr. Ricky Lee Allen
Running Head: INTERRUPTING THE SILENCE ii

INTERRUPTING THE SILENCE: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
OF A PILOT SEMINAR ON RACISM, INTERSECTIONALITY,
AND WHITE PRIVILEGE

by
ANGELA LYNN PUTMAN

B.A., Organizational Communication, Western Michigan University, 1998
M.A., Organizational Communication, Western Michigan University, 2002

DISSERTATION

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy in Communication

The University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico

May 2014
INTERRUPTING THE SILENCE iii

© 2014, Angela Putman
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DEDICATION

This dissertation is dedicated to my incredible sister, Meredith (Merry) Higgins.
I know that you are smiling down on me and beaming with pride.
I miss you more than words can say.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This dissertation would not have been possible without the support, guidance, and
encouragement from many people in my life. First, and foremost, I must acknowledge
God for His unconditional love and guidance in my life. It is through Him that all things
are possible (Phillippians, 4:13). I would also like to acknowledge my esteemed
committee members who have supported and guided me throughout this entire process.
Dr. Ilia Rodriguez—thank you for your kind words and for your willingness to sit with
me in your office and talk through my ideas. Dr. Ricky Lee Allen—your Whiteness
Studies class is the reason I felt confident in choosing white privilege as my dissertation
topic. Thank you for the scholarly chats and the endless amount of resources to guide me
along the way. Dr. Myra Washington—thank you for always being a reminder not to take
myself so seriously. You talked me down off several ledges throughout this process and I
am grateful for your friendship and support. Finally, my advisor, Dr. Mary Jane Collier—
I am so happy that I chose you as “my person,” and that you chose me back. You have
been more than an advisor to me. You challenge me, you encourage me, you support me,
you act as an example for me of the kind of scholar I hope to be, and I thank you from the
bottom of my heart.
There are several other people who played a supporting role in getting me to this
point, and I wish to thank each of them here. To my amazing editor, Doris Jackson
(Mama J), thank you for helping me to appreciate the value of the comma. Your insight
and wisdom were invaluable to me throughout this process. To my parents—Cynthia
Nuttall and Patrick Putman—thank you for always pushing me to be the best person that I
could be. You have helped to shape me into the woman I am today and I thank you for all
INTERRUPTING THE SILENCE vi
of your support and words of encouragement. Finally—to my partner in crime, the love
of my life, the head cheerleader for Team Putman—Matthew Jackson: I share this
success with you. Not only did you serve as my co-facilitator for this seminar, but you
were behind the scenes the entire way through this journey—you were always ready and
willing to encourage me, made sure that I was eating and sleeping, kept our household
running so that I could focus on this goal, and believed in me when I was doubting
myself. I love you with all of my heart and am forever grateful.
INTERRUPTING THE SILENCE vii
INTERRUPTING THE SILENCE: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
OF A PILOT SEMINAR ON RACISM, INTERSECTIONALITY,
AND WHITE PRIVILEGE

By:
Angela Lynn Putman

B.A., Organizational Communication, Western Michigan University, 1998
M.A., Organizational Communication, Western Michigan University, 2002
Ph.D., Intercultural Communication, University of New Mexico, 2014

ABSTRACT
This dissertation is based on the design and implementation of a pilot seminar for college
undergraduates on the topics of racism, intersectionality, and white privilege. Utilizing
Critical Communication Pedagogy as a theoretical and methodological approach, the
author discusses the learning competencies, activities, and achieved learning outcomes
related to the pilot seminar. Next, the author analyzes participants’ discourse that
emerged through seminar surveys, recordings of seminar activities, and observations. The
author then analyzes the first research question, related to participants’ negotiated
constructions of racism, intersectionality, and white privilege and examines how these
constructions did/did not reflect change throughout the seminar process. A number of
ideological discourses emerged through participants’ discourse before, during, and after
INTERRUPTING THE SILENCE viii
the seminar and these discourses are also analyzed using a Critical Discourse Analysis
approach. The author then discusses findings from the study that include participants’
subject positioning within the discourse, the implications of ideological discourses that
perpetuate the pervasiveness of whiteness and white privilege, and how these discourses
reinforce social practices that reify hierarchies, power relations, and status positionings.
INTERRUPTING THE SILENCE ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................1

Whiteness and White Privilege ................................................................................5

Whiteness and Instructional Contexts ....................................................................11

Broad Goals and Approach ....................................................................................14

History and Context of U.S. Racial Politics ..........................................................16

Overview of Study .................................................................................................22

Benefits of the Study ..............................................................................................23

Preview of Dissertation ..........................................................................................24

CHAPTER TWO: POSITIONALITY, THEORETICAL BACKGROUND, AND
RELEVANT CONCEPTS .................................................................................................26

Positionality ...........................................................................................................26

Theoretical Orientations .............................................................................28

Overview of Relevant Concepts ............................................................................32

Whiteness as Ideology ...............................................................................35
Racial Ideology ..............................................................................38
Color-Blind Ideology .....................................................................41
White Positioning and Privilege ............................................................................45

Critical Communication Pedagogy ........................................................................48

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODS ................................................................57
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Methods..................................................................................................................58

Participants .................................................................................................58

Facilitators ..................................................................................................61

Diversity and Design of Seminar ...............................................................63

Incorporation of Critical Communication Pedagogy .................................66

Learning Competencies .............................................................................67

Seminar Activities, Learning Outcomes and Evaluation .......................................69

Learning Outcome One: Knowledge about White Systems of
Domination ................................................................................................70

Learning Outcome Two: Knowledge of Systemic Racism as More than
Individual’s Racist Acts .............................................................................72

Learning Outcome Three: Intersectionality, Privilege and White
Privilege .....................................................................................................74

Learning Outcome Four: Recognizing the Pervasiveness of White
Privilege .....................................................................................................80

Learning Outcome Five: Differential Consequences of White
Privilege .....................................................................................................82

Learning Outcome Six: Confronting White Privilege in Social
Interaction ..................................................................................................84

Learning Outcome Seven: Plan of Action .................................................89