White Nationalism

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

Although the Unite the Right rally on August 11 and 12, 2017, in Charlottesville, Virginia lies in the past, its repercussions continue to divide the nation. Cries of White Nationalism continue to abound with little agreement on what it actually means, why it erupted when it did, and why it continues to attract such a large following. White Nationalism is not a recent phenomenon. Although the phrase was not commonly used until the early 1950s, its roots lie far deeper in the nation’s past. This course begins by examining the financial, social, and cultural conditions commonly associated with the movement today. But it then delves into its roots in such topics as American exceptionalism; what it means to be a nation founded on an idea, versus “blood lines”; the nation’s often contradictory responses to being seen as a nation of immigrants; its “scientific” defense in the eugenics movement in the early decades of the twentieth century; Americans’ persistent insistence on identifying the “other,” which has served to inform the very definition of what it is to be an American; and a comparative study of White Nationalism as it exists in other parts of the world. White Nationalism has been defined as a type of nationalism, which seeks to develop, or to maintain, a white racial and national identity. However, what white racial and national identity means has never been entirely clear. White Nationalists generally avoid the term “white supremacy,” as they believe it too narrowly focuses their agenda, which includes a range of groups and ideologies. As a result, to best understand White Nationalism the word “white” needs to be addressed literally and figuratively and, at times, even as a metaphor. It includes white supremacy, but although there is considerable overlap, they are not the same. As this course will show, there is much more to the story.