On the Weird Nostalgia of Whiteness: Poor Whites, White Death, and Black Suffering

Ravela, Christian

doi:10.1353/ams.2020.0001

Cited by 3 publications

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“…Joe PL Davidson https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1800-3771 Notes 1. It is worth noting here that nostalgia, like utopia, is also entwined with relations of racial and colonial power, an issue not considered by Bauman (see Ravela, 2020;Tinsley, 2020). 2.…”

Section: Fundingmentioning

confidence: 96%

The Sociology of Utopia, Modern Temporality and Black Visions of Liberation

Davidson

2022

Sociology

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This article focuses on the relationship between the sociology of utopia and Black visions of liberation. Influential figures from Karl Mannheim to Ruth Levitas have effectively demonstrated the value of a utopian perspective for sociology. However, the African American tradition of utopianism has been largely overlooked in this literature. I argue that the Black standpoint forces a rethinking of the sociological understanding of utopia. More specifically, while most sociologists of utopia straightforwardly associate the desire for a better world with the future, the Black tradition proposes a more expansive understanding of utopia’s temporality. Building on visions of new worlds advanced by WEB Du Bois and the movement for reparations for slavery, I suggest that Black utopia involves a glance backwards to the past, such that the image of a better future is accompanied by the memory of the catastrophe of slavery.

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Section: Fundingmentioning

confidence: 96%