Using real-life examples, this book asks readers to reflect on how we―as an academic community―think and talk about race and racial identity in twenty-first-century America. One of these examples, Rachel Doležal, provides a springboard for an examination of the state of our discourse around changeable racial identity and the potential for “transracialism.” An analysis of how we are theorizing transracial identity (as opposed to an argument for/against it), this study detects some omissions and problems that are becoming evident as we establish transracial theory and suggests ways to further develop our thinking and avoid missteps. Intended for academics and thinkers familiar with conversations about identity and/or race, Rethinking Rachel Doležal and Transracial Theory helps shape the theorization of “transracialism” in its formative stages.
Author(s): Molly Littlewood McKibbin
Edition: 1
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 124
City: Switzerland AG.
Tags: transracial, rachel, dolezal, theory, race, african, identity
Acknowledgements
Contents
Chapter 1: The Current State of (Trans)racial Discourse
Introduction
Puzzle Cases
What We Talk about When We Talk about Race
What the Responses to Rachel Doležal Reveal about Our Racial Beliefs
How Earlier Cases of White-to-Black Racial Identification Inform Our Discussion of Doležal
How Political Orientation is Related to Racial Identification
What Might Limit or Legitimate Black Identity
Works Cited
Chapter 2: Pathways for Further Developing (Trans)racial Discourse
Preamble
Why “Passing” Is Problematic
Why We Should Be Wary of Social Conservatism
Why We Need to Examine Individual vs. Collective Identity and Self-Identification
Why We Need to Consider Transgender Identity and Learn from the Hypatia Crisis
Why Ideal/Non-Ideal Theory Might Help
Why We Should Avoid Certain Ways of Thinking
Conclusion: Where We Go from Here
Works Cited
Index
