Ethical Awakenings: Stories of White Male Educators’ Commitment to Social Justice and the Interruption of Privilege by Bryan Stephany Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Geneva College, 2002 Master of Arts in Higher Education, Geneva College, 2007 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2019 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH School of Education This dissertation was presented by Bryan Stephany It was defended on November 13, 2019 and approved by Dr. Greg Loving, Faculty, University of Cincinnati, Department of Philosophy Dr. Michael Quigley, Robert Morris University, Department of Organizational Leadership Dr. Noreen Garman, Professor, Administrative and Policy Studies Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Michael Gunzenhauser, Associate Professor and Associate Dean, Administrative and Policy Studies ii Copyright © by Bryan Stephany 2019 iii Ethical Awakenings: Stories of White Male Educators’ Commitment to Social Justice and the Interruption of Privilege Bryan Stephany, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2019 This study is an anti-racist counter-story of white male educators’ commitments to social justice and their attempts at interrupting privilege. The author uses a qualitative methodological approach to unite personal narrative essay and phenomenological interviewing to collate narratives around the exploration of whiteness and power. At the heart of the project is a deep interest in seeking an ethic that fosters a social justice praxis for educators by exposing the underlying structures of whiteness through “witness” testimony. Using Butler's (2005) theory of subject formation, the author advances a theory of social justice that focuses on relation. The author makes active the context for tensions between his white male subjectivity and social justice praxis and then interweaves the narratives from participant interviews to elucidate how white subjectivity works with and against social justice in complex ways, especially within educational contexts. A close look is given to white educators’ experiences in communities of color and the connections between the participant narratives and the author’s own. The author highlights the significance of personal rupture, in which the self is exposed to new ontological, epistemological, and ethical possibilities at critical junctures on the life journey. A case is made for the curricular value of utilizing self-study – examples of which include personal narrative essays, autoethnography, and autobiographical approaches – in shaping students’ ethical commitments to responsibility towards others as well as potentially exposing fissures at the ontological horizon that might lead authentic personal and social changes. iv The author draws meaningful interpretations by discussing relevant themes shared among the personal narratives and identifies key experiences that led participants to new ways of understanding and relating to others, exemplifying ethical responsibility. By drawing connections between white subjectivity and ethical commitments to social justice, the author makes a case for the curricular value in considering new and creative ways of fostering student interaction with difference and how those interactions might draw students towards responsible action. Conclusions from the interpretations suggest the importance of relation as a key component of ethical responsibility, highlighting the significance of recognizing the self’s opacity as a form of social justice activism. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Innumerable people to thank for helping me along the way. Certainly, thank you Mom and Dad for your constant love and encouragement. You have always been my advocates no matter what. And Jennifer and Cheryl, my sisters, pushed me to keep going and were resilient in keeping my ego in check :) Thank you guys. I love you. Dr. Brad Frey was integral in pushing my thinking while a graduate student at Geneva College. Many valuable hours were spent in conversation that ultimately led me to pursue the doctorate. To that end, Brian Jensen, Joe Oliver, Dr. Dave Guthrie, Dr. Eric Miller, and Dr. Todd Allen were close colleagues and friends that helped me fashion my thinking about the issues covered in this dissertation and gave me encouragement to pursue a PhD. I honestly do not think I would have pursued this if it weren’t for their support, advise, and affirmation that I could indeed do this. I ended up developing key friendships that sustained me in my doctoral journey. Dr. Matt Rhodes and Dr. Christine Neider: thank you for being my comrades. Thank you for pushing my thinking, for trusting me to review your work and for taking time to review mine. Thank you for the trip to St. Louis and for including me on the panel discussion at AESA. It was an honor to see you through your PhD’s. You both are such an integral part of this work. I owe you both tremendously. Special thanks to Dr. Noreen Garman who I was fortunate to have as a mentor during my time in the program. What an honor it was to be your Teaching Fellow and to have rich and challenging conversations on a weekly basis. You always pushed my thinking to levels beyond vi what I thought was possible, constantly encouraging me, and every other student, to “press on.” Indeed, I have and will continue to do so. Thank you. Thank you Dr. Greg Loving for the great conversations we had at OVPES. That was a long time ago but it left a big impression on me. I’m so thankful that you’ve chosen to ride along with me on this journey, as unconventional as it has been. My ace, Dr. Michael Quigley. Hard to put into words how thankful I am for your friendship and wise council. You’ve always been there, selflessly offering time and energy and doing so with integrity. You’ve taught me a lot along the way and I’m honored that circumstances allowed you to be on the committee. Enormous thanks to Dr. Michael Gunzenhauser for being my doctoral advisor throughout this long journey. You always listened, always cared, and always offered encouragement and sound advice. I am so thankful to have been your advisee. Finally, my family: Emily, Griffin, and Nolan. You are my foundation. You have sustained me throughout this process. I simply could not have done this without your support. Thank you. I love you. Peace, Bryan M. Stephany, PhD 2019 vii TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Context .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Roadmap for the dissertation ...................................................................................... 4 1.2.1 Remainder of chapter 1 – Introduction .......................................................... 4 1.2.2 Chapter 2 – Theory, methods, and research design ...................................... 4 1.2.3 Chapter 3 – A personal narrative of whiteness in place ............................... 5 1.2.4 Chapter 4 – Profiles: Meet the men ................................................................ 5 1.2.5 Chapter 5 – Thematic analysis ........................................................................ 5 1.2.6 Chapter 6 – Conclusions and implications ..................................................... 6 1.3 Ethical subjectivity ....................................................................................................... 6 1.3.1 Making the personal public ............................................................................. 8 1.4 Critical whiteness studies ........................................................................................... 10 1.4.1 Overview of the field ...................................................................................... 10 1.4.2 Whiteness as neoliberal governmentality ..................................................... 13 1.4.3 Consequences of whiteness ............................................................................ 14 1.4.3.1 White privilege. ................................................................................... 14 1.4.3.2 White fragility. .................................................................................... 15 1.4.3.3 White fatigue. ...................................................................................... 16 1.4.4 Vigilance, critique, and social justice............................................................ 17 2.0 Chapter 2: Theory, methods, and research design........................................................... 20 2.1 Theory .......................................................................................................................... 20 viii 2.1.1 Post-structuralism .......................................................................................... 20 2.1.2 Neoliberal governmentality ........................................................................... 29 2.2 Methods ....................................................................................................................... 38 2.2.1 Narrative inquiry ............................................................................................ 38 2.2.2 Personal narrative essay ................................................................................ 41 2.2.3 In-depth personal interviews ......................................................................... 43 2.3 Research design .........................................................................................................