A theory of whiteness as symbolic racial capital: Bourdieu 2.0

Abstract

This article seeks to propose a theoretical and analytical framework for examining whiteness as a symbolic, racial capital. I propose to treat whiteness as an unexplained residual for different outcomes, similar to how human capital has been treated by economists when explaining income inequality or wealth disparities. To unveil the different dimensions of racial capital, this article builds on the treatments of whiteness as offered by different scholars working in the critical whiteness studies tradition. It then seeks to integrate this literature with the work on human capital, on one side, and on social and cultural capital, as elaborated by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, on the other.