Unraveling the White Cocoon [Paperback]

Jeff Hitchcock (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 249 pages
• Publisher: Kendall Hunt Pub Co (January 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787277479
• ISBN-13: 978-0787277475
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,577,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Asks what white people want from persons of color, May 19, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unraveling the White Cocoon (Paperback)

Unraveling The White Cocoon is ably written by a white American male who asks what white people want from persons of color - and then presents informative, cogent, challenging chapters which probe issues of racial distinction, racial ancestry, the idea of "colorblindness" in contemporary society, as well as the 'white cocoon' phenomena which exists in a wide variety of scenarios ranging from housing and education, to social organizations, recreational resources and public transportation. Many eye-opening ideas will be food for thought and discussion for school and community groups and Black Studies based curriculums and reading lists.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unraveling the White Cocoon, April 16, 2001

By 

Levonne Gaddy (Tucson, Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unraveling the White Cocoon (Paperback)

As President of the Association of MultiEthnic Americans, I was particularly impressed with Jeff Hitchcock's groundbreaking book "Unraveling the White Cocoon.". He talks about "White Americans as racial beings" and sheds light on their intra- and intergroup workings. Hitchcock takes pains to be respectful of all, then moves quickly into the hard discussion of White people and their innocent perpetuation of racism. He knows about this dynamic intimately as he is a White person himself. Hitchcock states that he believes White people are in fact trying to achieve a unified American society where race does not determine a person's standing. He goes on in "Unraveling the White Cocoon" to address how White people's intentions are undermined by their natural inclination to look at life through the privilege status of a White person, which without a great deal of effort, makes it impossible to compehend daily life as a person of color might experience. A multiracial society is the positive end result for America as described by Hitchcock. As long as Whites are the center of America versus being just another race in America, it will be impossible to achieve the multiracial society that Hitchcock speaks about. Power, institutionalized discrimination, monoracial thinking generally will need to be examined and corrected in order to attain the society in which race does not determine a person's standing. Overall Jeff Hitchcock's book takes one through a journey that unravels the White cocoon, thread by thread. It is required reading for all people seeking to achieve a racially just American society.

Levonne Gaddy, President Association of MultiEthnic Americans April 16, 2001

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Unraveling the White Cocoon by Jeff Hitchcock, April 5, 2001

By 

Kathleen Korgen (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unraveling the White Cocoon (Paperback)

REVIEW OF UNRAVELING THE WHITE COCOON BY JEFF HITCHOCK Kathleen Korgen, Ph.D. (Author of From Black to Biracial, Praeger 1998, 1999)

"Decentering whiteness" is at the center of Unraveling the White Cocoon, a new book by Jeff Hitchcock. Unlike much recent academic literature that focuses on whiteness, Hitchcock provides a straightforward, personal, and often moving argument for the need to study whiteness as one culture among many race-based cultures in the United States. Hitchcock lays out a vision of a multiracial America in which white culture will no longer be seen as simply "normal" but one of a mosaic of racial cultures each occupying decentered positions in a society with a multiracial/multicultural center.

Unraveling the White Cocoon will be an essential tool for academic classes covering issues of culture and racial/ethnic diversity in the United States, activists, and all persons seeking to understand whiteness as one of multiple race-based cultures in American society. Hitchcock provides an excellent overview of the history of whiteness in U.S. society and the still recent birth and development of examinations of whiteness by both academics and activists. His captivating description of his own transformation from a "colorblind" young man to a leader in the field of white studies provides lively as well as informative reading for readers of all backgrounds. Rather than preach, Hitchcock shares frank and often brutally honest reflections on his own struggles with racism. In doing so, he eloquently drives home the point that an examination of white culture is, while at times painful, possible and worthwhile for all white Americans.