Analysis Of Grillo's Taking Back The Center

“Taking Back the Center” by Grillo and Wildman, points out the natural advantages of white dominant society. “The white, male, heterosexual societal norm is privileged in such a way that its privilege is rendered invisible”. (Grillo 337) Since, whiteness is accepted as the norm or privileged group, problems of minority groups are ignored and push to the backburner. Those in the dominant priviledged group get to enjoy the many benefits such as having their voices heard in society. On the other hand, minority groups in U.S society are deprived of the opportunity to let their problems be known to society. Grillo and Wildman write about how the privileged dominant white groups are the “speakers” rather than the “listener”. The dominate group often times are ignorant to the issues of minority relations since their status as the privileged group makes them feel superior to the rest of the population. The widely accepted ideal of whiteness as the norm creates exclusiveness within the group, where only the issues of relevance
He felt as if his right to study material that is central and relevant to his own self as a privileged individual was being infringed upon. He has adopted the thinking that the “canon” curriculum is of most importance; hence all other reading was dispensable. (Grillo 338) The instilled beliefs of dominate white culture and privilege resulted in the man’s offensive attitude towards multicultural integration of university curriculum. Thus, he became ignorant to the needs of minorities and the betterment of overall social society. It’s hard to fault him for the way he feels since American society has always placed white people at the top of the social ladder. To the man, and many of the dominant group members, it would seem like an expected right for them to be at the forefront of social