The Whiteness of Silence: A Critical Autoethnographic Tale of a Strategic Rhetoric

Authors

Jennifer E. Potter, Towson UniversityFollow

Abstract

Nakayama and Krizeck’s essay, “A Strategic Rhetoric of Whiteness” offers an understanding of Whiteness as cultural praxis operating beyond the narrow understanding of mere skin color. While scholars have added valuable contributions to the study of Whiteness, the discussion of the “strategic rhetoric” still lacks examples of embodiment. This essay seeks to demonstrate the deployment of Whiteness by describing a specific moment in which I was complicit in the deployment of Whiteness using the strategy of silence. This essay enumerates the machinations of Whiteness hidden in a seemingly mundane performance and contributes to an ongoing conversation about problematizing Whiteness.

Keywords

Critical Autoethnography, Whiteness Studies, Race, and Ethnicity Studies

Author Bio(s)

Jennifer E. Potter is an Associate Professor in the Mass Communication and Communication Studies Department at Towson University specializing in intercultural communication, gender and communication, and rhetorical theory and criticism. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: Jennifer E. Potter at 8000 York Road, Towson, MD 21252 or e-mail at jpotter@towson.edu.

Publication Date

9-14-2015

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2015.2290

Recommended APA Citation

Potter, J. E. (2015). The Whiteness of Silence: A Critical Autoethnographic Tale of a Strategic Rhetoric. The Qualitative Report, 20(9), 1434-1447. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2015.2290