Understanding Whiteness

Despite the ways whiteness has historically been invoked in the [re]positioning of the Irish on both sides of the Atlantic, the discourse on race in Ireland does not sufficiently focus on whiteness or colour based racism. In other to better explain and understand the political terrain and socioeconomic environment in Ireland, this session will examine how whiteness has historically been mobilised to centralise white Irish interests while subjugating its racial others both at home and abroad. It explores Ireland’s racialisation in the diaspora and how historically, Ireland creates and responds to its racial others. While the top tiers of the Irish labour market would suggest a monocultural Ireland, this session analyses the experience of racism by various groups who have made Ireland home including Ireland’s own ethnic minorities, the Travellers. We will explore what is meant by privilege. Who experiences privilege and what is its effect.

Host or Publisher The Anti-Racist Collective