Whiteness at the Abyss

'Whiteness' is an omnipresent term within research on race and racism. This book differs from existing conceptualizations by adopting a psychoanalytic line of approach and by directing its attention to a particular socio-historical instantiation of whitenessthe investments, fantasies and fears apparent within (post) apartheid South African contexts. It foregrounds the notion of 'white anxiety', which is conceptualized not only via notions of psychical temporality, but with reference to the dystopian visions of the future, ideas of inter-generational guilt, and fantasies of demise. To posit an imagined 'end to whiteness' is not, of course, an uncontroversial gesture; the closing section of the book surveys the key themesantisemitism, white Nationalism, the trope of the race traitorin online attacks the author was subjected to. This compelling work will appeal to all those with an interest in psychoanalytic approaches to race and racism, and to anyone working in the areas of critical race and whiteness studies.

Presents a novel Lacanian conceptualization of whiteness as anxiety Contributes to debates on the role of psychoanalysis in regard to issues of race and racism Offers a distinctive, historically grounded, critical engagement with, and contribution to, the literature on whiteness

Autorentext

Derek Hook is Professor of Psychology at Duquesne University, USA, and an Extraordinary Professor of Psychology at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Inhalt

1. Fragments From a Research History.- 2. Petrified Life.- 3. White Anxiety.- 4. Reflections on a Scene of Attack.