KINE 1000 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Patricia Hill Collins
4 Jul 2018
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According to Patricia Hill Collins, what obstacle makes it difficult to recognize how we
participate in other people’s oppression?
We identify the type of the oppression with what feels most comfortable as being
fundamental
We then classify all other types as being of lesser importance.
What is this obstacle called and what are the two parts of it ?
It is called “additive analysis”.
Additive analysis makes it seem as if race, class and gender oppression are unrelated, and
as if one’s privilege and one’s being oppressed has nothing to do with an individual’s
privilege and their oppression.
The two parts of additive analysis are dichotomous thinking (either/or thinking) and
ranking of oppression
Dichotomous thinking examples: oppressed/not oppressed, black/white, man/woman,
thought/feeling.
Collins argues that to more effectively disrupt systems of oppression, we need to adopt
new ways of thinking about it. What new ways of thinking is she talking about?
We need to stop using additive analysis of oppression in order to think in ways which
acknowledge that race, class and gender are interconnected systems of oppression that
either privilege or/and penalize all of us.
What are the three levels of oppression and what are some examples that Collins uses
from these three levels to discuss how we can abandon old ways of thinking?
Institutional level of oppression: - Collins uses the example of the pre-Civil War
American slave plantation. Her idea is that each person’s role and position in the slave
plantation institution contributes to everyone else’s domination and subordination to
this institution and the ideology (of patriarchy) it promotes and perpetuates. Hence,
the overall oppression in this institution cuts across racial, gender and social class
lines. This way of thinking about the slave plantation avoids the old additive analysis
way of thinking.
Symbolic level of oppression: - Images present simplified either/or (stereotypical)
racial, gender and class messages that promote additive analysis thinking. When we
realize this, we can refuse to accept these simplifications of groups and of people by
not accepting dichotomous thinking (either/or thinking) this refusal can help break
down barriers between “different” groups of people.
Individual level of oppression: - institutional and symbolic oppression divide and
confine people to groups. Our families, friends/contacts tend to be from our social
”group”- the way they are, their beliefs, their hopes and dreams tend to be same as
ours. Hence our sense of what life is all about, our role in life, and what we expect to
get out of life tend to be defined by our group. So we know little and/or care little
about “other” groups of people and their lives. In this way, people in “different” social
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
We identify the type of the oppression with what feels most comfortable as being fundamental. We then classify all other types as being of lesser importance. Additive analysis makes it seem as if race, class and gender oppression are unrelated, and as if one"s privilege and one"s being oppressed has nothing to do with an individual"s privilege and their oppression. The two parts of additive analysis are dichotomous thinking (either/or thinking) and ranking of oppression. Dichotomous thinking examples: oppressed/not oppressed, black/white, man/woman, thought/feeling. Collins argues that to more effectively disrupt systems of oppression, we need to adopt new ways of thinking about it. We need to stop using additive analysis of oppression in order to think in ways which acknowledge that race, class and gender are interconnected systems of oppression that either privilege or/and penalize all of us. Institutional level of oppression: - collins uses the example of the pre-civil war.
