theory

Gloria Wekker is an Afro-Surinamese Dutch scholar, whose extensive body of work has brought questions of colonialism, race, gender, sexuality and diaspora to the forefront of critical scholarship on the Netherlands and the Dutch Empire. In the Dutch context, Gloria Wekker has been fundamental to understanding and confronting racial and colonial legacies, and the varying ways in which these are reproduced in the Netherlands today.

Gloria Wekker’s writing and passion have transcended the bounds of academia and inspired scholars and activists who continue to grapple with the legacies of empire today. In 1984, she became a founding member of “Sister Outsider”, an Amsterdam-based literary circle for lesbian black women named after Audre Lorde’s famous text by the same name. She has inspired an entire new generation of scholars and activists in both the Netherlands and beyond to take up questions of colonialism and race, and to do so intersectionally.

Recently she was named one of the most influential Dutch academics.

"THE CLAIM OF INNOCENCE, HOWEVER, IS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD: IT CONTAINS NOT-KNOWING, BUT ALSO NOT WANTING TO KNOW"

GLORIA WEKKER, "WHITE INNOCENCE"

1. Look up the author, what field are they in?

6. Identify a passage from the introduction that invokes any sense of discomfort. Highlight this passage and return to reading it periodically as you work through the minor. What does this passage reveal about your socialization into the Dutch cultural archive? Does your discomfort shift over time? If so, what supported that shift?

1. Look up the author, what field are they in?

2. Read the text slowly and highlight words/ phrases that you like and that speak to you.

3. Choose parts of the text that interest you most, or reflects the most compelling ideas (write between 300 and 500 words about this).

4. Pick your favorite quote from this reading and put them on your hotglue as well.

5. Also think about what this text means for the body you are in: is she speaking about you? In what context does she speak about you? How does this make you feel? Describe the words there is no limit and they can be contradictory.

6. Identify a passage from the introduction that invokes any sense of discomfort. Highlight this passage and return to reading it periodically as you work through the minor. What does this passage reveal about your socialization into the Dutch cultural archive? Does your discomfort shift over time? If so, what supported that shift?

7. What do you think is missing from the Dutch cultural archive?

3. Choose the parts of the text that interest you most, or reflects the most compelling ideas (write between 300 and 500 words about this).

5. Also think about what this text means for the body you are in: is she speaking about you? In what context does she speak about you? How does this make you feel? Describe the words there is no limit and they can be contradictory.

In the introduction of White innocence by Gloria Wekker, I was particularly interested in the 3 paradoxes that she mentions in relation to the White Dutch self-representation. These include first of all the fact that Dutch do not identify with migrants, even though 1/6 Dutch people have migrant ancestry and 3.6M of the 16.8M population come from somewhere else.

Most of these migrants migrated to the Netherlands whilst their countries were fighting for their independence under the Dutch colonial rule. Still to this date, the Netherlands remains a hostile environment for migrants, by constantly reminding them that they are ‘the other’. This is apparent in the example given of “Minister Rita Verdonk of Foreigners’ Affairs and Integration, white and former prison director, representing the VVD, repeatedly told Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a black female member of parliament for the same party and a former refugee from Somalia, that since she had lied about her exact name her date of birth in order to obtain dutch citizenship, the minister was now forced to revoke it.” Nevertheless, the Netherlands does not hesitate to hand pick elements of these migrant cultures that they deem valuable, such as Surinamese food.

The second paradox was the one of the Netherlands playing the innocent victim of German occupation. History books often cover this vastly and fail to mention that during the same period the Netherlands perpetrated excessive violence against Indonesia, who were fighting for their independence. The historical connections between the Netherlands and Indonesia only ever come into discussion as temporary flares.

The third paradox mentions the dutch imperial presence in the world. What shocked me the most about this paradox is the lack of education dedicated towards the Dutch imperial presence in schools and that it is up to individual teachers to decide how many hours they want to dedicate to this topic. The education system therefore fails to teach students about the Dutch role in slave trade, colonialism, etc. therefore enforcing the self-representation of White Innocence.

In conclusion, I was most captured by these paradoxes as I live amongst them daily, but have never been aware of them to this extent, making me extremely aware of my whiteness. After having read this, I’ve reflected on past discussions with friends or my dutch lessons, in which I recognise these three paradoxes. I want to continue having conversations with my dutch friends on these topics, even if they might be awkward.

As a white female living in a society that is predominantly white and never having to experience what it is like to not be apart of the norm of whiteness, I definitely feel like Wekker is speaking to me. Although I am not dutch, I was born in Luxembourg to a British mother and Guyanese/British father. At birth I was assigned the British nationality, a country that was, at its heights, the largest empire. This means that I have a certain responsibility in educating myself about the colonial rule of Britain, especially as it effected my father’s side of the family.

Living in the Netherlands and being ‘transparent’ as a white person, I also carry the responsibility of being aware of the ground I am standing on. Having had several conversations about racism, freedom, inclusivity with my WHITE friends, I have come across white innocence. During the Black Lives Matter movements in particular, I was spending a lot of time reading books such as “Why I’m no longer talking to White people about Race” by Reni Eddo-Lodge, listening to podcasts and trying to have conversations with my friends and family. However, in my naïveté of thinking that my friends would share the same view as myself of needing to be an ally to the black community, I remember a talk I had with one of my white dutch friends.

He was explaining to me how he did not think that he should get involved in the protests, education or learning, because it ‘did not involve him’. I remember at the time that I struggled to explain why he was involved and the conversation died out. I still remember this exact moment, because it is a moment in which I let white innocence breed instead of unpacking it or making the person question what they meant by saying that “it didn’t involve them”.

In retrospect, the fact that no discussion took place, highlights that my white privilege was showing.

"The memory of the Holocaust as the epitome and model of racist transgression in Europe erases the crimes that were perpetrated against the colonized for four centuries. This excision coincides with the representation that the history and reality of Europe are located on the continent and that what happened in the colonies is no constitutive part of it. This frame of mind — splitting, displacement, in psychoanalytical terms — is still operative to this day, got instance, in the way that the memory of World War II is conceptualized. It is the memory of what happened in the metropole and of the many Jews who were abducted and killed, not about what happened in the colonies at the time (Van der Horst 2004). Trying to insert those memories into the general memory often meets with hostility and rejection.

I came to the Netherlands with the stereotypical idea of it being a place of freedom and open-mindedness. Being white, I fit right into the norm and was unaware of the lack of education on colonial history. This only became clear to me when talking to my dutch friends about racism during the BLM movement, which was when I encountered the 'White Innocence' that Wekker mentions. It also made me realise that I am part of the majority and higher power which selects the content of the Dutch cultural archive.

7. What do you think is missing from the Dutch cultural archive?

I think what is missing from the Dutch cultural archive is the action of taking responsibility. The Netherlands pretends to be innocent while being a small country, however it would be refreshing to see them own up and admit their wrong-doings, to the same extend as they do by playing the victim during World War II. They could start doing this by providing an in-depth education on their colonial past in high-schools and universities!

FINDING NEW WAYS OF CATEGORISING OBJECTS

In groups we were asked to categorise the 5 objects that we brought to class.

We decided to categorise ours based on the emotions and made a chart which is divided by subjectivity and objectivity. The right of the chart evokes more positive emotion where as the left part is for negative connotations.

I for example brought my kimono, which I bought in Thailand 5 years ago. I still wear it around my house but was unsure if it was cultural appropriation which is why it is between positive and negative. I brought this item to ask the group what they thought and we came to the conclusion that it is not cultural appropriation because it is worn as appreciation and not in a way that could offend the culture it is from.

DEADLINE: OCTOBER 12

What is unclear for you?
Same questions as mentioned in the bottom of article, especially: does the creation of the datasets serve the interests of the many or only those of the few?

What you learnt, what you already knew (and where did you learn it from)?
Learnt:
- The term benchmark dataset = used to judge how well a computer has learned to perform a task, allows engineers to compare their machine learning methods against each other
- ImageNet = contains millions of pictures scraped from the web
- Neural networks = stacking of artificial 'neurons' on top of each tother (Each layers alters the image slightly)

Already knew:
- AI is trained based on specific knowledge chosen by the majority in society (white people), which is why it reinforces inequalities of race, gender and class. It does not learn neutrally.

Ideas that caught your interest?
- AI reflects the discrimination that happens in the real world, because it is trained by those who live in it, for example ImageNet Roulette labeled New York Times video editor Jamal Jordan as "Black, Blackamoor, Negro", no matter which image he uploaded. ImageNet's creators removed the dataset of such labels, but it's worrying to know that those categories play a role in machine learning.

The Fragility of Life

What is unclear for you?
What is a 'varying amalgan'?

What you learnt, what you already knew (and where did you learn it from)
Learnt:
- ‘parametric truth’ = applications that demand an objectivity
- "CAESAR", as far as I know, is one of the biggest databases available of scanned body meshes and anthropometric data to this day. I assume, therefore it keeps on being used — recycled — for research in need of humanoid 3D meshes."

Ideas that caught your interest?
- Case of Zimmerman: "But what is on screen is merely a representation of the data transmitted by 16 sensors, not a body."
A misplaced or wrongly calibrated sensor would yield an entirely different animation."

- When do we lose empathy towards the representation of a human?

"THE PAST IS NEVER DEAD.
IT'S NOT EVEN PAST."

WILLIAM FAULKNER, REQUIEM FOR A NUN

Traumas Lost and Found

- "repetition compulsion" = attempt of the unconscious to replay what's unresolved, so we can "get it right" -> unconscious drive to relive past events could be one of the mechanisms at work when families repeat unresolved traumas in future generations.

The Core Language of Relationships

1. The core complaint: What is your greatest complaint about your partner?
2. The core descriptors: What are some adjectives and phrases you would use to describe your mother and your father?
3. The core sentence: What is your worst fear? What's the worst thing that could ever happen to you?
4. The core trauma: What tragic events occurred in your family history?

THE FOUR TOOLS TO FIND THE CORE LANGUAGE MAP

The Core Language of Success

- are we unconsciously attempting to balance the actions of someone who came before us? Many of us unwittingly perpetuate the suffering and misfortunes of the past.

ATONING FOR WRONGDOINGS IN THE FAMILY HISORY

THOUGHTS

-> my mum doesn't have a good relationship with her mother and brothers, my dad does not talk about any of his family members
-> am i trying to find something / connections that are already lost.

Why do I feel the need to find out more about my family history?

CHATS WITH MY BROTHER JAZ

TALKING ABOUT HOW IT FEELS TO GROW UP WITHOUT A CONNECTION TO ANY CULTURE

Context:
I have 2 siblings, an older brother and a younger sister. We all grew up in Luxembourg with a british mother and guyanese/british father. Our parents divorced while we were around the ages of 8-12. We were primarily raised by a single mum in a beautiful home. We didn't have any traditions except the occasional british roast. Our main family was my mum and us siblings with no connection to any other family members, due to past history. All of us currently live in 3 different countries and do not identify as british, nor luxembourgish.

I called my brother to ask him how he feels about his identity and how he navigates the missing of belonging that has developed due to a rupture of culture.

Jaz feels differently on being a third culture kid:
- Feels easier to meet new people
- Easier to leave the country you grew up in, but also constantly floating around the world without an anchor
- felt like he would attach himself to anything to feel belonging, for example used to claim he was irish (we have irish blood on my mums side), he now thinks this might of been a stereotypical idea or appropriation, but at the time he found comfort in being able to support an irish rugby team and be part of something.
He then went to ireland for the first time and said the only thing he had in common was the drinking haha
- For him, Scotland (country of study for his BA) feels like home, because it is a place he associates a feeling of belonging to
- Mixed children find it easier to pack up and leave, because they might not feel as attached to things

Interrogating "Whiteness", (De)constructing "Race"

NOTES / p.909 - 912
- we assume that physiological differences between various so-called "races" indicate distinct underlying biological-genetic differences, "natural" divisions between disparate groups of people.
- the belief that each person belongs to one "race" ignores the many "biracial" and"multiracial" people. -> false sense of racial purity
- the terms "white" and "black" are not as stable in the 20th century as they were in the past

QUOTES
- "Appearances can be extremely deceptive, and not one of us is "unmixed".
- "Race" is an ambiguous, constantly changing concept that has little - if anything - to do with scientific descriptions"
- "The meaning of race is defined and contested throughout society, in both collective action and personal practice. In the process, racial categories themselves are formed, transformed, destroyed and re-formed."
- "Yet even a brief look at a few of the many ways racial groups have been redefined in this country illustrates how unstable and artificial radicalised identities are."