On Whiteness: The Racial Imaginary Institute

The Racial Imaginary Institute (TRII) is an interdisciplinary collective that examines the power structures, neutrality, and frailty of whiteness. Their 2018 symposium, "On Whiteness," gathered a diverse array of thinkers, artists, and activists to explore how whiteness is a source of often unquestioned or unobserved power and how it is articulated as a source of power and as a bloc that feels endangered. The essays in the collection challenge the idea of whiteness as neutral and explore what can be made when we investigate, evade, beset, and call out bloc whiteness. Contributors include authors, thinkers, and artists such as Lauren Berlant, Jeff Chang, and Nell Painter.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 18 May 2022
Publisher: Self Publish, Be Happy

Rewritten text:
The Racial Imaginary Institute (TRII), founded in 2017 by authors Claudia Rankine and Beth Loffreda, is an interdisciplinary collective of artists, writers, knowledge producers, and activists. The institute's historic 2018 symposium, "On Whiteness," brought together a diverse array of thinkers, artists, and activists, resulting in a collection of essays that explore whiteness as a source of often unquestioned or even unobserved power, while also making visible the variations of this dangerous ideology that have been intentionally positioned as neutral.

In our current moment, whiteness is being freshly articulated as both a source of unquestioned power and a bloc that feels endangered, even as it retains its hold on power. Given that the concept of racial hierarchy is a strategy employed to support white dominance, whiteness is an essential aspect of any conversation about race. The essays in "On Whiteness" make visible what has been intentionally presented as inevitable to facilitate more revelatory conversations about race. They question what can be made when we investigate, evade, beset, and call out bloc whiteness.

Contributors to this collection include renowned writers and thinkers such as Linda Alcoff, Lauren Berlant, Sadhana Bery, Daniel Borzutzky, Jane Caflisch, Jeff Chang, Aruna D. Souza, Lori Gruen, Saidiya Hartman, Nell Painter, and Doreen St. Flix.

The Racial Imaginary Institute (TRII) continues to be a vital space for exploring the complexities of race and whiteness, challenging dominant narratives, and fostering dialogue and action toward a more equitable and inclusive society.

Weight: 124g
Dimension: 102 x 147 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781916041288