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Classism, Ableism, and the Rise of Epistemic Injustice Against White, Working-Class Men

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2019, Master of Humanities (MHum), Wright State University, Humanities.
In this thesis, I illustrate how epistemic injustice functions in the divide between white working-class men and the educated elite by discussing the discursive ways in which working-class knowledge and experience are devalued as legitimate sources of knowledge. I demonstrate this by using critical discourse analysis to interpret the underlying attitudes and ideologies in comments made by Clinton and Trump during their 2016 presidential campaigns. I also discuss how these ideologies are positively or negatively perceived by Trump’s working-class base. Using feminist standpoint theory and phenomenology as a lens of interpretation, I argue that white working-class men are increasingly alienated from progressive politics through classist and ableist rhetoric. If progressives wish to win over white working-class men, they will need to ameliorate this division, otherwise this gap will continue to grow. Finally, I suggest class-sensitive approaches for moving forward and bridging this gap.
Kelli Zaytoun, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Jessica Penwell-Barnett, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Donovan Miyasaki, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
106 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Bostic, S. E. (2019). Classism, Ableism, and the Rise of Epistemic Injustice Against White, Working-Class Men [Master's thesis, Wright State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1559238446980086

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Bostic, Sarah. Classism, Ableism, and the Rise of Epistemic Injustice Against White, Working-Class Men. 2019. Wright State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1559238446980086.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Bostic, Sarah. "Classism, Ableism, and the Rise of Epistemic Injustice Against White, Working-Class Men." Master's thesis, Wright State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1559238446980086

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)