McIntosh HMXP 102 (Thanks to Dr. Matt Fike for most of these slides)

Privilege McIntosh asserts that men and whites have certain privileges that women and persons of color do not have. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Here is another way to ask the question: What are your experiences of male or white privilege? Can you illustrate some of the 50 things that McIntosh lists?

Meritocracy Does this word characterize your experience of America or not? OR is the truth somewhere in between the presence and the absence of meritocracy? Does anything in your life illustrate "unearned race advantage and conferred dominance" (87)? How about unearned advantages in other areas? Is meritocracy really a "myth," as McIntosh claims on page 87?

Types of Racism McIntosh distinguishes between racism as "individual acts of meanness" and racism as "invisible systems conferring unsought racial dominance" (87). Have you had experiences with either of these? Do you think that there are other kinds of racism? How about the kind of racism that characterizes thoughts but does not always manifest outwardly?

Final Questions IN YOUR NOTEBOOK, WRITE AN ANSWER TO ONE OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: Having now discussed Loury and McIntosh, do you understand yourself differently? If so, how? If not, why not? What is one thing that you have learned from today’s class? Another thing to consider: What was your first experience of racism? How did you first become aware of racial differences between people and of their implications? END