THE WHITE RACIAL ENGAGEMENT MODEL: Unlearning the Oppressive Conditioning of Whiteness

This chapter introduces the white racial engagement model (WREM), which conceptualizes how white people perpetuate or disrupt whiteness vis-a-vis engagement with their white racial identity. It traces the history of early models of white racial identity development and summarizes more recent literature concerning white college students and whiteness. WREM is a nonlinear model with numerous pathways of engagement. Movement between the statuses is indicated by the black arrows. Movement to a new status occurs as a result of dissonance-provoking stimuli i.e., critical encounters that prompt white people to think about and reflect on race. Equally as important as guided self-reflections, faculty and practitioners should also facilitate students’ understanding of their racial engagement through targeted readings about racial dynamics, issues, and engagement, power, and social identity. WREM adds value to the critical discourse on whiteness in higher education as it poses new questions and suggests areas ripe for research.