Publications

Monica McDermott and Annie Ferguson. 2022. Annual Review of Sociology, 48:1, 257-276. Link

Abstract

The past 20 years have witnessed a tremendous accumulation of research in whiteness studies in general, and in the sociology of whiteness in particular. In contrast to the earliest days of research in this subfield, much recent work has moved beyond preoccupations with whiteness as a seemingly invisible, default racial category to instead consider whiteness as a complex identity and basis of structural privilege and neocolonial dominance. Predominantly autobiographical and strictly theoretical work has been augmented by sophisticated empirical studies from a variety of methodological traditions. Contemporary scholars continue to grapple with epistemological concerns and the issue of how to dismantle that which is totalizing and hegemonic.

Ferguson. 2022. Sociology Compass. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13057 | PDF

Abstract

People have fought against racism for as long as it has existed and yet it persists in diverse and materially impactful ways. The primary challenge to eradicating racism is likely the power of white privilege. This paper argues that another important obstacle to progress has been the lack of a clear definition of antiracism that movement activists and scholars can collaboratively use to ensure that antiracist scholarship and efforts meet the full measure of the term’s intention. While academia has struggled to converge on a definition, “lay race theorists” (Randolph, 2018) and movement activists – Black women in particular, have been participating in discourse online and through other venues where consensus appears to be developing around a definition. This article attempts to summarize activist discourse in defining antiracism as “the commitment to eradicate racism in all its forms” (paraphrasing Oluo, 2019) and individual antiracism as “the commitment to eradicate racism in all its forms (Oluo, 2019), by (1) building an understanding of racism and (2) taking action to eliminate racism within oneself, in other people, in institutions, and through actions outside of institutions,” noting that “antiracism is an ongoing practice and commitment that must be accountable to antiracist Black people, Indigenous people, and other People of Color and consider intersectional systems of oppression.” While research on the public conversation benefits from its easy access and limited additional burdens on movement activists, future research should test these definitions with movement activists to ensure that definitions and metrics are as relevant to the antiracist movement as possible.