Aim: What does Allan Johnson’s article teach us about privilege?

1. Aim: What does Allan Johnson’s article teach us about privilege?

2. “The U.S. is a racist society that privileges whites over other racial groups” – Allan Johnson

3. What is privilege? • a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor ; especially: such a right or immunity attached specifically to a position or an office http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/privilege • Which people are privileged in American society? • Why is the issue of privilege so touchy?

4. Privilege • People are made to feel “evil” if they are privileged • People become stuck in cycles of guilt, blame, and defensiveness • Ex. Racism - whites often don’t say anything, or react angrily and defensively • Men often react the same way about sexism

5. What does the expression mean: “seeing the forest for the trees?”

6. People tend to Look at individuals rather than society This affects how we see the world People often think social problems come down to individual character flaws i.e. “that poor man should just try harder to find a good job” or “that poor woman should have tried harder in school.”

7. Difference means more than variety it is a basis for inclusion/exclusion rewarding some more and some less treating some with respect and others not difference is a basis for privilege

8. A sociologist says that society is more than just individual people A forest is more than individual trees

9. We are always participating in something larger than ourselves We need to understand what it is we are participating in, and how we participate in it This is what sociology is The 1 Thing

10. Ex. Schools, corporations, families, societies We participate in social systems

11. Monopoly - game as a social system has positions, a material reality - board, dice, properties, and ideas and sets of relationships Goal is to win - get the most money

12. system is external, it is not ours to shape “That’s the way the game is played” Greedy behavior is presented as the path of least resistance

13. statement describes the U.S as a system Not a personal attack on anyone social system defines your experience you have choices about how to participate in the system “The U.S. is a racist society that privileges whites over other racial groups” – Allan Johnson

14. Systems affect how we think feel and behave

15. However, systems narrow the range of possibilities People follow the path of least resistance given their position Ex. Laughing at a racist joke You can behave in a nearly infinite number of ways

16. Social systems and social life can be horrible or wonderful but the people who participate in these might be neither Ex. Sweatshops, migrant workers

17. “Not Tamika”

18. “Not Funny”

19. “Priorities”

20. Conclusion: Exit Slips – write and share

21. Why practice sociology? To understand the world To understand why suffering occurs To be part of the solution To understand connections between things

22. Johnson practices sociology when: • He thinks about social life • He writes • He works with people trying to figure out what is going on in the world • He works as a consultant in corporations to help solve problems sometimes created by diversity • He observes the world and tries to make sense of it