Abstract
Whiteness in America is often represented and experienced as a norm. The normalization of whiteness both perpetuates the marginalization of racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S., and also enables white Americans to leave their own racial and ethnic identities unexamined. This study explores the question of whether and how white American college students perceive connections among their racial, ethnic, and national identities. A series of in depth interviews explores how students understand various aspects of their identities such as racial, ethnic, national, and religious, and which of these identities, may be seen as connected or overlapping. Analysis using a grounded theory approach reveals themes of Protestant Christianity as a norm, whiteness as both invisible and privileged, and the collegiate experience as significant in forming understandings of race and identity.
How to Cite
Purdy, S., (2016) “Whitewashed America: An Exploration of Identity in American College Students”, Capstone, The UNC Asheville Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship 29(1).
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