{"id":{"repo_id":"alabama","oai_identifier":"oai:ir.ua.edu:123456789/13804"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/alabama/oai:ir.ua.edu:123456789/13804","repository":{"repo_id":"alabama","name":"University of Alabama","base_url":"https://ir-api.ua.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Whiteness and the Movement of Signification: Toward a Deconstruction of Ontologies of Absolute Difference","abstract":"The field of critical whiteness studies relies on a presupposition that whiteness is a way to categorize a group of people as absolutely different from another. This is a flawed presupposition, as it creates an ontology of absolute difference (defined as a mode of being rooted in qualities of immutable difference) reinscribing the logic of race as an organizing principle of social and political life. This thesis uses deconstructive theory to suggest that whiteness needs to be understood as a discursive formation operating within a movement of signification. Deconstruction allows for an understanding of how whiteness arises out of a process of constructing meaning. This thesis uses four novels as case studies: Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim, Jean Toomer’s Cane, and Nella Larsen’s Quicksand and Passing. Lord Jim critiques the actions of white people in a way that relies on presuppositions of absolute difference. In this way, Lord Jim anticipates critical whiteness studies. Cane demonstrates how conceptualizing whiteness as founded in absolute difference does not hold up under pressure arrived at a priori. Quicksand demonstrates how whiteness works in the movement of signification and Passing works to deconstruct whiteness as an ontology of absolute difference. This project looks to Cane, Quicksand, and Passing to demonstrate how whiteness can be conceptualized without reinscribing whiteness as an ontology of absolute difference.","abstract_html":"The field of critical whiteness studies relies on a presupposition that whiteness is a way to categorize a group of people as absolutely different from another. This is a flawed presupposition, as it creates an ontology of absolute difference (defined as a mode of being rooted in qualities of immutable difference) reinscribing the logic of race as an organizing principle of social and political life. This thesis uses deconstructive theory to suggest that whiteness needs to be understood as a discursive formation operating within a movement of signification. Deconstruction allows for an understanding of how whiteness arises out of a process of constructing meaning. This thesis uses four novels as case studies: Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim, Jean Toomer’s Cane, and Nella Larsen’s Quicksand and Passing. Lord Jim critiques the actions of white people in a way that relies on presuppositions of absolute difference. In this way, Lord Jim anticipates critical whiteness studies. Cane demonstrates how conceptualizing whiteness as founded in absolute difference does not hold up under pressure arrived at a priori. Quicksand demonstrates how whiteness works in the movement of signification and Passing works to deconstruct whiteness as an ontology of absolute difference. This project looks to Cane, Quicksand, and Passing to demonstrate how whiteness can be conceptualized without reinscribing whiteness as an ontology of absolute difference.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Panciera, Aaron"],"institution":"University of Alabama Libraries","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Wittman, Emily","McKnight, Utz"],"advisors":["Trout, Steven"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024","date_published":"2024","updated_at":"2026-07-27T18:44:05Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en_US","English"],"rights":["All rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["1052740"],"render_values":[{"text":"1052740","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/13804","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Wittman, Emily","McKnight, Utz"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Trout, Steven"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Panciera, Aaron"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2024-06-14T17:30:17Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-06-14T17:30:17Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2024"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of Alabama Libraries"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis","text"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_US"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["All rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["1052740"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/13804"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The field of critical whiteness studies relies on a presupposition that whiteness is a way to categorize a group of people as absolutely different from another. This is a flawed presupposition, as it creates an ontology of absolute difference (defined as a mode of being rooted in qualities of immutable difference) reinscribing the logic of race as an organizing principle of social and political life. This thesis uses deconstructive theory to suggest that whiteness needs to be understood as a discursive formation operating within a movement of signification. Deconstruction allows for an understanding of how whiteness arises out of a process of constructing meaning. This thesis uses four novels as case studies: Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim, Jean Toomer’s Cane, and Nella Larsen’s Quicksand and Passing. Lord Jim critiques the actions of white people in a way that relies on presuppositions of absolute difference. In this way, Lord Jim anticipates critical whiteness studies. Cane demonstrates how conceptualizing whiteness as founded in absolute difference does not hold up under pressure arrived at a priori. Quicksand demonstrates how whiteness works in the movement of signification and Passing works to deconstruct whiteness as an ontology of absolute difference. This project looks to Cane, Quicksand, and Passing to demonstrate how whiteness can be conceptualized without reinscribing whiteness as an ontology of absolute difference."]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["electronic"]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Whiteness and the Movement of Signification: Toward a Deconstruction of Ontologies of Absolute Difference"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Wittman, Emily","McKnight, Utz"],"dc:contributor.advisor":["Trout, Steven"],"dc:creator":["Panciera, Aaron"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2024-06-14T17:30:17Z"],"dc:date.available":["2024-06-14T17:30:17Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2024"],"dc:description":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"],"dc:description.abstract":["The field of critical whiteness studies relies on a presupposition that whiteness is a way to categorize a group of people as absolutely different from another. This is a flawed presupposition, as it creates an ontology of absolute difference (defined as a mode of being rooted in qualities of immutable difference) reinscribing the logic of race as an organizing principle of social and political life. This thesis uses deconstructive theory to suggest that whiteness needs to be understood as a discursive formation operating within a movement of signification. Deconstruction allows for an understanding of how whiteness arises out of a process of constructing meaning. This thesis uses four novels as case studies: Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim, Jean Toomer’s Cane, and Nella Larsen’s Quicksand and Passing. Lord Jim critiques the actions of white people in a way that relies on presuppositions of absolute difference. In this way, Lord Jim anticipates critical whiteness studies. Cane demonstrates how conceptualizing whiteness as founded in absolute difference does not hold up under pressure arrived at a priori. Quicksand demonstrates how whiteness works in the movement of signification and Passing works to deconstruct whiteness as an ontology of absolute difference. This project looks to Cane, Quicksand, and Passing to demonstrate how whiteness can be conceptualized without reinscribing whiteness as an ontology of absolute difference."],"dc:format.medium":["electronic"],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.other":["1052740"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/13804"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:language.iso":["en_US"],"dc:publisher":["University of Alabama Libraries"],"dc:rights":["All rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated."],"dc:title":["Whiteness and the Movement of Signification: Toward a Deconstruction of Ontologies of Absolute Difference"],"dc:type":["thesis","text"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T18:44:05Z"}