McIntosh's article White Privilege opened my eyes to a different way of thinking about race and privilege in today's society. I am sad to say that until reading this article I had never really thought of myself as advantaged. Had you asked me whether or not racism, sexism, or other forms of prejudice created significant obstacles for minorities I would have said "sure, you betcha." But I had never thought of my whiteness as something that gives me an unfair advantage. The subtle difference between being treated "normally" and being given an unfair advantage had never occured to me. I had come to think of the treatment I received as fair and normal rather than advantaged.

McIntosh goes on to list the ways in which she feels advantaged in day to day life. While many of them are valid I was particularly interested in, Number 6 read :

When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.

As a history major I think this has particular influence. I think it may have an effect on what I believe is a lack of diversity in the history field. Depsite often liberal viewpoints in the field I think that minorities are often turned off from the subject because many common viewpoints don't value non-white societies contributions. Even when minority cultures are covered in courses it is through a European or American lenses.

While the article truly opened my eyes in many ways I couldnt help but feel that it was building up to something that never occurs. It ends abruptly and I would love to know whether or not she expanded on her ideas in another article. I would love to know of any practical ways that the author has come to address this issue in day to day life.

Hi guys!

Thought I would give brief introduction. My name is Ben and this is my first semester at the Grad School of Ed. I received my undergrad from UMASS Lowell in history in 2011 and I am excited to be back in school after a year off.

In my spare time I teach and train Brazilian jiu jitsu. I also enjoy traveling and I am a huge hockey fan. Any questions feel free to ask and I look forward to getting to know you all this summer!