Jeb Sharpe reports on the development of a new academic field that looks at the meaning of 'whiteness' in a race-conscious society. Scholars and commentators have both welcomed and criticized the arrival of whiteness studies on campus. But interest is growing and within the field some differences of opinion have emerged. What whiteness scholars do agree on is that whiteness conveys privilege so pervasive that it's virtually invisible to its beneficiaries. And this, says scholars, is the "racial problem" that white people must confront.
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