While Whitey's on the Moon
Fabricating Authenticity - Jason W.M. Ellsworth
Annie Rose O'Brien [+ ]
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Annie Rose O’Brien is a Religious Studies PhD student at UNC-CH, concentrating in Religion in the Americas. Her work explores the intersection of race, religion, and violence in the American South, focusing on historic and contemporary rituals of white supremacy.
Description
Building on Ramey’s argument, O’Brien draws on a couple of examples to explore the practical effects of our language—particularly that of authentic American identity—in maintaining power structures that oppress marginalized communities. O’Brien argues that our histories and narratives of identity are not neutral and require thoughtful and critical engagement to better understand how certain narratives are authorized and others are delegitimized.