What Do You Mean by Whiteness - Explore Whiteness - Critical Dialogues on Privilege Identity Model (PIE) - Spring 2007 - Volume 26 - Number 2

Oct 15, 2026

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Article examines reflections from a doctoral seminar on whiteness, focusing on how participants navigate difficult dialogues about privilege, diversity, and social justice. Four doctoral students describe tensions and defense modes as they confront contradictions in their own experiences, guided by Watt’s Privilege Identity Model (PIE). The piece develops a course definition of whiteness as a hegemonic system sustained through power dynamics across language, religion, class, race relations, and sexual orientation. It highlights how resistance mechanisms can block meaningful engagement and how self-critique reshapes participants’ understanding.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Exploring Whiteness

Defining Whiteness and Course Approach

Privilege Identity Model (PIE) and Defense Mechanisms

Student Reflections: Michelle

Student Reflections: Dionne

Student Reflections: Susan

Student Reflections: Frank

Recognizing Privileged Identity

“What do You Mean by Whiteness?”:A Professor,FourDoctoral Students,and a Student Affairs AdministratorExplore Whiteness Stephanie Power Carter,Michelle Honeyford,Dionne McKaskle,FrankGuthrie,Susan Mahoney,Ghangis D.Carter In this article,four doctoral students—two White females,one African Americanfemale,a White male—an African American female assistant professor,and anAfrican American male student affairs administrator reflect on the dificult dialoguesthat took place during a seminar on wbiteness.Watt's (2007)Privilege Identity Model(PIE)was integral in understanding students'reactions and reflections as they beganconfronting and interrogating whiteness in their own experiences. As a Black female scholar,I have consciously attempted to address privilegethrough the creation of courses that afford my students and me opportunitiesto engage in difficult dialogues(e.g.,Watt,2007).Opportunities to engage indifficult dialogues are important on today's college campuses as the world inwhich we live is becoming increasingly diverse.Thus student affairspractitioners must create opportunities and be prepared to facilitate dialoguesthat help students deal with issues of privilege,diversity,and social justice(Watt,2007).During an intensive summer session,I was afforded theopportunity to create and teach a doctoral seminar entitled,Critical Perspectives onWhiteness in Education.Nine interested doctoral students signed up for thecourse.We began the semester by exploring our own definitions of whiteness.Together,we collaboratively constructed a definition we constantly revisitedthroughout the course:"Whiteness is a hegemonic system that perpetuatescertain dominant ideologies about who receives power and privilege.Whitenessmaintains itself in cultures through power dynamics within language,religion,class,race relations,sexual orientation,etc." As the instructor,my goal was to challenge students and involve them in aprocess of self-critique by putting themselves in their statements,meaning thatany time students made generalizations about race,class,gender,or religion, # “What DoYou Mean by Whiteness?” they were asked by me,and/or by their peers,to think about the implicationsof their statements.As we began to share our experiences,tensions surfaced,forcing us to wrestle with discomfort. Watt's (2007)Privilege Identity Model (PIE)was integral in understanding theresponse and reactions students had as they addressed tensions andcontradictions in their own lives.Watt asserts that meaningful and difficultdialogues are often blocked by resistant behaviors.The PIE model articulateseight defense mechanisms (e.g.,denial,deflection,rationalization,intellectualization,principium,false envy,minimalization,and benevolence)that people often engage during difficult dialogues.The PIE model provided alens to examine student reflections and responses as they began to interrogatehow whiteness functions in their own lives and experiences. This article will focus on the reflections of four doctoral students from thewhiteness course,the tensions they faced as they moved through variousdefense modes and how they began to confront whiteness in their own livesand collective experiences.The following section will focus on student'sreflections.As an introduction to the section,I will briefly outline variousdefense modes that students exhibited: 1)Michelle's (a White female student)first reaction was to think about herformer role as a teacher and her own denial of the complexities of privilege.Shethen reflected on how she rationalized her experiences,as she had not beensocialized to see her own privilege.2)Dionne's (an African American femalestudent)reflection focused primarily on the dissonance that she felt as she andher peers engaged in confronting privilege.3)Susan (a White female)reflected onher denial and inability to initially see her classmate's description of Black andWhite privilege.She also acknowledged that prior to the course she had usedher

FAQs

What is the seminar’s purpose regarding whiteness and difficult dialogues?

The seminar centers on exploring participants’ definitions of whiteness and using guided reflection to help them confront privilege and engage difficult dialogue. It aims to support self-critique and address issues of privilege, diversity, and social justice.

How does Watt’s Privilege Identity Model (PIE) help interpret student reactions?

PIE provides a framework for understanding how resistant behaviors can block meaningful engagement during difficult dialogues. It identifies eight defense mechanisms (such as denial and rationalization) that people may use when addressing tensions.

What defense modes do students initially exhibit when confronting their own experiences?

The article describes multiple modes across students: Michelle reflects on denial and rationalization; Dionne experiences dissonance while engaging privilege; Susan describes denial and deflection of racist ideas; Frank links his response to dissonance with intellectualization through graduate study.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by jayni