Historic Scaffolds of Whiteness in Higher Education

Abstract

Any examination of the present functioning of US institutions of higher education must critically consider the deeply insidious ways that Whiteness is and has been scaffolded into the physical and cultural structure of these institutions since their inception. Beyond the individual level instances of interpersonal racism that are all-too common on today’s college campuses, it is the omnipresence of Whiteness and white supremacy as organizing forces that have made these institutions truly peculiar and increasingly problematic as the demographics of campuses change. This chapter explores the foundational history of Whiteness in US higher education through an analysis of five historical moments in which Whiteness was inscribed and reinforced within these institutions. If educators and racial justice advocates are to succeed in mediating the oppressive nature of Whiteness in the college context, that mediation must begin from an understanding of Whiteness not as a casual or peripheral component of higher education, but rather the foundation on which the American Academy was built.