Show simple item record

Americanness, Masculinity, and Whiteness: How Michigan Militia Men Navigate Evolving Social Norms.

dc.contributor.authorCooter, Amy B.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2013-06-12T14:28:06Z
dc.date.available2013-06-12T14:28:06Z
dc.date.issued2013en_US
dc.date.submitted2013en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/98077
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation is based on three years of ethnographic fieldwork and 40 in-depth interviews with members of the Michigan militia. Militia members are mostly white men who believe in an originalist interpretation of the Constitution. Armed with rifles, they practice paramilitary exercises and protest various government actions. Militia members see themselves as "super citizens" who embody national ideals of freedom and equality even as they face public criticism as being violent, socially regressive, and racist. My dissertation examines how members respond to changing ideas about equality and inclusion while belonging to a group that lauds a mythic vision of the nation where white men had exclusive social power. I find that most militia members genuinely try to be egalitarian, and the ways in which they fail are instructive regarding white men's conceptualizations of other groups. I argue that an idealized national identity, strongly influenced by mythical stories of the country's founding, shapes members' responses to a variety of issues. Specifically, I find that members use the militia space to test and expand constructions of what it means to be a man in contemporary U.S. society even as they reference themes of a traditional, hegemonic masculinity when explaining their militia participation. Regarding race, militia members tend to be accepting of African Americans, but make very little effort to accept Muslim Americans. I argue that members have largely integrated anti-racist norms about African Americans, but they fear physical harm and change to an idealized national identity from Muslims as a result of past violence and attendant political change. Militia members' relationship to authority, primarily embodied by law enforcement actors is similarly complex. Members are likely to comply with authoritative actions they understand to be legitimate and in accordance with Constitutional principles and defy those actions they understand to be illegitimate. This work challenges current understandings of masculinity and whiteness, particularly among lower-middle class, American men as it shows that men who strongly value a mythical American identity that is premised on the social power of white men nonetheless consciously grapple with issues of gendered and raced equality.en_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.subjectNationalismen_US
dc.subjectAmericannessen_US
dc.subjectMasculinityen_US
dc.subjectWhitenessen_US
dc.subjectMilitiaen_US
dc.titleAmericanness, Masculinity, and Whiteness: How Michigan Militia Men Navigate Evolving Social Norms.en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.description.thesisdegreenamePhDen_US
dc.description.thesisdegreedisciplineSociologyen_US
dc.description.thesisdegreegrantorUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studiesen_US
dc.contributor.committeememberZubrzycki, Genevieveen_US
dc.contributor.committeememberCountryman, Matthew J.en_US
dc.contributor.committeememberTsutsui, Kiyoteruen_US
dc.contributor.committeememberYoung Jr., Alford A.en_US
dc.subject.hlbsecondlevelSociologyen_US
dc.subject.hlbtoplevelSocial Sciencesen_US
dc.description.bitstreamurlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98077/1/cooterab_1.pdf
dc.owningcollnameDissertations and Theses (Ph.D. and Master's)


Files in this item

Show simple item record

Remediation of Harmful Language

The University of Michigan Library aims to describe library materials in a way that respects the people and communities who create, use, and are represented in our collections. Report harmful or offensive language in catalog records, finding aids, or elsewhere in our collections anonymously through our metadata feedback form. More information at Remediation of Harmful Language.

Accessibility

If you are unable to use this file in its current format, please select the Contact Us link and we can modify it to make it more accessible to you.