Blinded by the White

July 12, 20191:00 pm1:50 pm
The white savior complex (WSC) leaves no white person untouched. From Christian to atheist, from missionary to barista, from hippy to concealed carrier, whiteness is the host which carries the WSC virus. Evolved from the DNA of colonialism, it has continued to morph and transmute, lodging itself in the genes of the modern organism of the dominant culture.

In an off-the cuff-series of tweets that struck a nerve in many, novelist Teju Cole summed up it up like this: “The white savior supports brutal policies in the morning, founds charities in the afternoon, and receives awards in the evening. The banality of evil transmutes into the banality of sentimentality. The world is nothing but a problem to be solved by enthusiasm.”

In this session, we will discuss questions such as: what is the deeper narrative that drives the attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions that have given rise to this nearly ubiquitous phenomenon on the white dominant culture? What are some of the psychological and historical mechanisms that drive it? Is there any hope of transcending it?

12:00 am Ryan Kuja