Lecture: “The Invention of White People in Law”
Apr
5
Written by:
4/5/2012 10:14 AM
Sociologist Jacqueline Battalora to Speak at 2012 Heffernan Lecture
Madison, Wis. (April 3, 2012) – Jacqueline Battalora will present the 2012 Heffernan Distinguished Lecture, “The Invention of White People in Law and the Making of ‘the American,’ at 7:00 pm Tuesday April 17, 2012, in the Anderson Auditorium on campus.
This lecture will discuss the first time in law that a group of humans referenced as “whites” appeared, looking at the context out of which this creation arose. The new category of humanity is then traced through U.S. expansion, immigration and naturalization law examining the impact upon various groups of people. Throughout the talk, social patterns are highlighted that suggest a commonality with a number of policies and practices in the twenty-first century.
Jacqueline Battalora, Ph.D., J.D. is an attorney and professor who works as an anti-racist writer, educator, and trainer. At Saint Xavier University in Chicago, she teaches courses in law and society. Her graduate research at Northwestern University was shaped by an interest in the social forces that make deep human connections across race “lines” so difficult to sustain. Battalora’s approach to white awareness training is enhanced by experience that includes working as an educator, practicing attorney, and as a Chicago police officer. She has trained teachers, lawyers and judges, activists, and corporate and law enforcement officials on the legal historical record of white privilege and its implications for work conducted today.
The lecture is sponsored in part by the Bob and Carroll Heideman Crossing Educational Boundaries fund.