Sociology Seminar 9th Nov, 2-3pm: 'The Lighter, the Whiter, the Brighter, the Better? The Mixed Race Dilemma' by Karis Campion, Sociology PGR
| Dates: | 9 November 2016 |
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| Times: | 14:00 - 15:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Social Sciences |
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| Who is it for: | University staff |
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| Speaker: | Karis Campion |
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You are warmly invited to the next Sociology seminar, given by Karis Campion, Sociology PGR, UoM, on 9th November 2016, 2-3pm in the Arthur Lewis Boardroom (second floor).
The talk is entitled: 'The Lighter, the Whiter, the Brighter, the Better? The Mixed Race Dilemma'
Abstract
The term mixed race is now the broadly accepted descriptor for those with a mixed ethnicity. It marks a disjuncture from terminology such as ‘half-caste’ which was rooted in pathological foundations and had negative connotations for mixed race people during the interwar years, a period in which it was argued that mixing would lead to degenerative races (Caballero, 2004). Despite this vulnerable positioning, mixed race has often historically been elevated above blackness as part of a racial hierarchy in which whiteness remains firmly fixed at the top. In the 21st century this elevation of mixedness has intensified, especially in the West where mixed race has in fact at times been strategically promoted (Thompson, 2012) and has gradually come to be regarded as a symbol of Western multiculture and tolerance - an identity to be celebrated. In that project, mixed race is afforded certain privileges. This social capital manifests itself in ‘pigmentocracies,’ and through the flawed construction of mixedness as ‘hybrid vigor’ (Lewis, 2010). The critical question is to what extent is this privilege attributed to mixedness felt by mixed race people themselves? This paper will argue that there is a mixed race dilemma unique to the mixed experience that arises out of tensions between mixed race as a privilege and mixed race as a burden. It situates the dilemma in themes of exoticism and fetishism, out-group privilege and in-group prejudice, identity policing, precarious positionality and family continuation.
Tea and coffee provided.
Speaker
Karis Campion
Role: PG Researcher
Organisation: Sociology, University of Manchester
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
Arthur Lewis Boardroom
Arthur Lewis Building
Manchester
