The White Possessive against and within the Neoliberal University

Abstract

Aileen Moreton-Robinson’s book The White Possessive: Property, Power, and Indigenous Sovereignty shows how intimately knowledge production and exchange are linked to the value of property. This article uses her text to identify and challenge the camouflage of possessive white ignorance as virtue in the neoliberal university. I argue that The White Possessive does more than help readers to understand the global revival of white supremacist movements and “alt-right” intellectuals and media channels. It also explains why academic and activist projects organized around such seemingly virtuous objectives as fighting racism and recognizing Indigenous rights can ironically confine people within white racial schemas.