Looking White People in the Eye : Gender, Race, and Culture in Courtrooms and Classrooms

In this book Sherene Razack explores what happens when whites look at non-whites, and in particular at non-white women. Many studies examining this encounter between dominant and subordinate groups focus on how it occurs in films, books, and popular culture. In contrast, Razack addresses how non-white women are viewed, and how they must respond, in classrooms and courtrooms. Examining the discussion of equity issues in the classroom and immigration and sexual violence cases in the courtroom, she argues that non-white women must often present themselves as culturally different instead of oppressed. Seen as victims of their own oppressive culture who must be pitied and rescued by white men and women, non-white women cannot then be seen as subjects. This book makes clear why we must be wary of educational and legal strategies that begin with saving 'Other' women. It offers powerful arguments for why it is important to examine who are the saviours and who are the saved, and what we must do to disrupt these historical relations of power. This collection begins with two essays written while teaching at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. There I benefited from the scholarly advice of my friend and colleague Homa Hoodfar, who continues to be an important influence and source of strength. When I came to the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in Toronto, Ontario, I drew once again upon the enormous scholarly reserves and staunch support of Ruth Roach Pierson. My colleagues at OISE, including Kathleen Rockhill, Kari Dehli, and George Dei, helped me to refine my ideas. I often draw upon George's unwavering intellectual and political commitment to antiracism. Mary Louise Fellows came into my life during the writing of the last three essays of this book. Her intellectual gifts and generosity shaped my ideas about innocence and complicity and her shadow falls on many of these pages. Without a wider community of scholars of colour, I would have lost heart long ago. For their friendship and scholarly expertise, I am grateful to Yvonne Bobb Smith, Ramabai Espinet, Honor Ford-Smith, Richard Fung, and Narda Razack, and to my American friends and colleagues of the critical race theory workshops, including Laura Gomez, Frank Valdes, and especially Robert Chang, who is always forthcoming with ideas about maintaining connections with other scholars of colour. If there is any overriding influence on my work, it would be the students at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. I have shamelessly relied on them for research assistance and found myself enriched and sustained by their intellectual talents and friendship. Those who contributed to specific chapters are listed in the endnotes of those chapters. I would also like to thank Honor Ford-Smith, Amina Jamal, Barbara Heron, Donna Jeffery, Jane Ku, Helle-Mai Lenk, Sheryl Nestel, and viii Acknowledgments Yvonne Bobb Smith for all the work they did on the overall production of this book and for taking it on as though it were their own. The two anonymous reviewers gave the manuscript extraordinary care and I found their suggestions and encouragement very valuable. Finally, I thank Jeanie Stewart who gave her meticulous attention to the computer production of the manuscript at a time when it was not easy for her to do so. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council supported my research for the last five years and I am grateful to them, the more so in this time of vanishing research grants. Without my family, who give me strength and confidence, I could do very little. I thank my parents, Ishmile and Acclema, my siblings and their partners, and, most of all, Larry, Ben, and Ilya for all their love and support. This book is for the next generation of my family who know better than I how to be of many places, cultures, and races -my children, Ilya, and Ben; "In this book Sherene Razack explores what happens when whites look at non-whites, and in particular at non-white women. Many studies examining this encounter between dominant and subordinate groups focus on how it occurs in films, books, and popular culture. In contrast, Razack addresses how non-white women are viewed, and how they must respond, in classrooms and courtrooms. Examining the discussion of equity issues in the classroom and immigration and sexual violence cases in the courtroom, she argues that non-white women must often present themselves as culturally different instead of oppressed. Seen as victims of their own oppressive culture who must be pitied and rescued by white men and women, non-white women cannot then be seen as subjects. This book makes clear why we must be wary of educational and legal strategies that begin with saving 'Other' women. It offers powerful arguments for why it is important to examine who are the saviours and who are the saved, and what we must do to disrupt these historical relations of power."--Résumé de l'éditeur In this book Sherene Razack explores what happens when whites look at non-whites, and in particular at non-white women. Most studies examining this encounter between dominant and subordinate groups focus on how it occurs in films, books, and popular culture. In contrast, Razack addresses how non-white women are viewed, and how they must respond, in classrooms and courtrooms. Examining the discussion of equity issues in the classroom and immigration and sexual violence cases in the courtroom, she argues that non-white women must often present themselves as culturally different instead of oppressed. Seen as victims of their own oppressive culture who must be pitied and rescued by white men and women, non-white women cannot then be seen as subjects. This book makes clear why we must be wary of educational and legal strategies that begin with saving 'Other' women. It offers powerful arguments for why it is important to examine who are the saviours and who are the saved, and what we must do to disrupt these historical relations of power Provided by publisher

In this book Sherene Razack explores what happens when whites look at non-whites, and in particular at non-white women. Most studies examining this encounter between dominant and subordinate groups focus on how it occurs in films, books, and popular culture. In contrast, Razack addresses how non-white women are viewed, and how they must respond, in classrooms and courtrooms. Examining the discussion of equity issues in the classroom and immigration and sexual violence cases in the courtroom, she argues that non-white women must often present themselves as culturally different instead of oppressed. Seen as victims of their own oppressive culture who must be pitied and rescued by white men and women, non-white women cannot then be seen as subjects. This book makes clear why we must be wary of educational and legal strategies that begin with saving 'Other' women. It offers powerful arguments for why it is important to examine who are the saviours and who are the saved, and what we must do to disrupt these historical relations of power.

Contents 5 Acknowledgments 7 Introduction: Looking White People in the Eye 9 1 The Cold Game of Equality Staring' 31 2 The Gaze from the Other Side: Storytelling for Social Change 44 3 What Is to Be Gained by Looking White People in the Eye? Race in Sexual Violence Cases 64 4 Policing the Borders of Nation: The Imperial Gaze in Gender Persecution Cases 96 5 From Pity to Respect: The Ableist Gaze and the Politics of Rescue 138 6 Conclusion: To Essentialize or Not to Essentialize: Is This the Question? 165 Notes 179 Bibliography 217 Permissions 237 Index 239 Examining the classroom discussion of equity issues and legal cases involving immigration and sexual violence, Razack addresses how non-white women are viewed, and how they must respond, in classrooms and courtrooms.