Penelope Ingram | University of Texas at Arlington (original) (raw)

Books by Penelope Ingram

Imperiled Whiteness: How Hollywood and Media Make Race in "Postracial" America , 2023

This is the introduction to my book, __Imperiled Whiteness: How Hollywood and Media Make Race in ... more This is the introduction to my book, __Imperiled Whiteness: How Hollywood and Media Make Race in 'Postracial' America __ published by U Press of Mississippi, 2023

Reading fictional narratives through political ones, I argue that during the
eight years of Obama’s presidency, 2008–2016, and beyond, a variety of media
platforms, including film, television, news, and social media, turned whiteness
into a commodity that was packaged and disseminated to a white populace.
These outlets propagated a narrative of whiteness under attack and did so in
the context and under the guise of progressive “postracial” film and television,
including the most prominent postracial ruse of all—Obama’s presidency.

Details Imperiled Whiteness examines the role played by media in the resurgence of white nationa... more Details
Imperiled Whiteness examines the role played by media in the resurgence of white nationalism and neo-Nazi movements in the Obama to Trump era. As politicians on the right stoked anxieties about whites "losing ground" and "being left behind," media platforms turned whiteness into a commodity that was packaged and disseminated to a white populace. Reading popular film and television franchises (Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, and The Walking Dead)through political flashpoints, such as debates over immigration reform, gun control, and Black Lives Matter protests, Ingram reveals how media produced and disseminated feelings of white vulnerability and loss among white consumers. By exploring the convergence of entertainment, news, and social media in a digital networked environment, Ingram demonstrates how media's renewed attention to "imperiled whiteness" enabled and sanctioned the return of overt white supremacy exhibited by alt-right groups in the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville and the January 6th insurrection.

This book argues that language is central to understanding the relationship between ontology and ... more This book argues that language is central to understanding the relationship between ontology and ethics. Ingram revisits the relationship between representation and matter in the work of Irigaray, Heidegger and Fanon in order to advance a theory of material signification.

Papers by Penelope Ingram

SUNY Press, 2008

This is the introduction to my book, The Signifying Body: Toward an Ethics of Sexual and Racial D... more This is the introduction to my book, The Signifying Body: Toward an Ethics of Sexual and Racial Difference.

The Signifying Body reads the work of Luce Irigaray and Frantz Fanon against Heidegger's theory of ontological becoming, arguing that each in their respective critiques of phallogocentrism and colonialism develops an ontology which not only allows for but presumes an ethical relation with an Other.

The Signifying Body suggests that by attending to the materiality of sexual and racial difference, we can imagine ontologies that account for the lived experience of subjects that have traditionally served as the ground/object/thing for the white male humanist subject.

SUNY Press, 2008

This is the conclusion to my book, The Signifying Body: Toward an Ethics of Sexual and Racial Dif... more This is the conclusion to my book, The Signifying Body: Toward an Ethics of Sexual and Racial Difference.

The Signifying Body reads the work of Luce Irigaray and Frantz Fanon against Heidegger's theory of ontological becoming, arguing that each in their respective critiques of phallogocentrism and colonialism develops an ontology which not only allows for but presumes an ethical relation with an Other.

The Signifying Body suggests that by attending to the materiality of sexual and racial difference, we can imagine ontologies that account for the lived experience of subjects that have traditionally served as the ground/object/thing for the white male humanist subject.

Philosophy and Literature, Jan 1, 1999

The association between Virginia Woolf and Roger Fry is well documented and critics generally see... more The association between Virginia Woolf and Roger Fry is well documented and critics generally see in Woolf's art a faithful representation in literature of Fry's aestheticism. This essay attempts to revisit this assumption of a one-to-one correspondence between Woolf's literary production and Fry's artistic philosophy through a reading of Woolf's masterpiece, To the Lighthouse, and through an examination of the influence on that work of the philosophy of G. E. Moore. Just as with Fry, critics have found in Woolf's text resonances with Moore's philosophy; however, if we read To the Lighthouse as a dialogue between Woolf and Fry and Moore, rather than Woolf's homage or tribute to the two men, the novel opens itself up to a new interpretation: as Woolf's philosophical and artistic response to--and not, as many have suggested, an unequivocal adoption of--that tradition of philosophy espoused by Moore, and that theory of aesthetics promulgated by Fry.

Cultural Critique, Jan 1, 1999

This essay examines Gayatri Spivak's theory of subaltern silence in order to proffer a new way of... more This essay examines Gayatri Spivak's theory of subaltern silence in order to proffer a new way of reading the appropriation of voice and native culture in settler texts. In her reading of Janet Frame’s The Carpathians, Ingram demonstrates how the silence of the Maori subalterns enables the production of an "indigenous" voice for the settler, a voice which is unsignifiable and untranslatable, one which would seem to emerge from that very place of undecidability where the "real" subaltern's silence is lodged. In Frame's text, then, it is not the subaltern or the native who recovers a voice, or indeed a "lost origin," out of indeterminate silence but the settler. Ingram thus argues that a major trope in contemporary settler texts is a desire to appropriate the silence of the subaltern.

New Literary History, Jan 1, 2001

Since the beginning of the 1990s scholars from disciplines as diverse as history, sociology, and ... more Since the beginning of the 1990s scholars from disciplines as diverse as history, sociology, and film studies have been engaged in an attempt to theorize the role played by whiteness in the formation of dominant subjectivities. Specifically, these theorists have suggested that most white people experience their whiteness as intangible, universal, or transparent, and they find whiteness to be represented accordingly in literature, film, and other media. This essay explores these issues from a perspective previously unexamined in these theorizations, that of the postcolonial white settler. Ingram examines how settlers, by way of an analysis of the Australian novelist David Malouf's prizewinning work Remembering Babylon, attempt to define themselves as white subjects; that is, how they represent and construct whiteness in general and, importantly, a sense of their own whiteness in particular in literature.

Since his execution in 1880 there have been 12 stage plays, 30 books and 10 films, including what... more Since his execution in 1880 there have been 12 stage plays, 30 books and 10 films, including what is thought to be the first feature film ever made, The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906). Peter Carey's best-selling, prize-winning True History of the Kelly Gang (2000) is the most recent memorial to Kelly and has certainly solidified and revitalized Kelly's status as national icon. Clearly there is no doubt that Kelly is mythologized. What interests me specifically and will be the subject of this paper is the body of Ned Kelly. We are, it seems, not simply fascinated with the story of Ned, but I would argue with the body of Ned. Indeed all of the elements that contribute to a lasting interest in his legend--convict background, English/Irish relations, republican sentiment--get expressed through his embodiment.

Feminist Review, Sep 1, 2000

Essays on JJ Abram's Final Frontier: The Kelvin Timeline of Star Trek, 2019

In 2016, Abrams produced "Beyond," the third installment of the Star Trek reboot, directed by Asi... more In 2016, Abrams produced "Beyond," the third installment of the Star Trek reboot, directed by Asian-American director Justin Lin and featuring black British actor Idris Elba in a lead role as the evil Krall. On the surface, this film appears to be consistent with Abrams’s stated commitment to diversity. Star Trek "Beyond" includes the most diverse cast of all the reboots, and actors of color are given extended story arcs. Idris Elba’s character Krall, who plays the lead antagonist, is central to the film’s exploration of questions of identity and belonging. However, far from the progressive film it seems to be, "Beyond" reproduces some troubling stereotypes and can be seen to reflect the growing racial divide evident in the US towards the end of Barack Obama’s presidency. Indeed, rather than standing as a corrective to Into Darkness, Beyond can be viewed as its natural successor, extending the disturbing racial politics of that film.

Jump Cut, 2018

Despite its overt message of minority group resistance, the new Planet of the Apes franchise enga... more Despite its overt message of minority group resistance, the new Planet of the Apes franchise engages in a form of racial politics that reflects an implicit white fear of an empowered African-American minority.

"The collection of 23 essays provides an exciting snapshot of contemporary theorising on the mate... more "The collection of 23 essays provides an exciting snapshot of contemporary theorising on the maternal within psychoanalytic and social theory. The introduction serves as an excellent overview of this interdisciplinary field and its importance both to motherhood studies and broader feminist thinking. This book is a triumph!"

Assistant Professor Julie Kelso, Department of Philosophy and Literature, Bond University

"Mothering and Psychoanalysis brings together a vibrant collection of critical, interdisciplinary perspectives on psychoanalysis, feminism, motherhood and sociology. In her engaging introduction, Petra Bueskens provides a comprehensive overview of the key debates in the field and their contemporary implications. The collection includes reprinted essays from important thinkers and international contributions from a diverse range of writers who offer fresh and original insights into psychoanalysis and mothering. The book represents some of the best of the new scholarship in maternal studies."

Associate Professor Julie Stephens, College of Arts, Victoria University, Australia

Mothering and Psychoanalysis: Clinical, Sociological, and Feminist Perspectives. Ed. Petra Bueskens, Jun 2014

Through an analysis of the film Babel, I argue that female spectators can be engaged or interpell... more Through an analysis of the film Babel, I argue that female spectators can be engaged or interpellated in ways that defy their role as fetishized objects of the male gaze, through the variety of maternal spaces explored in the film. Specifically, I theorize the presence of a maternal gaze, which contrary to contemporary theorizations of the filmic gaze should not be confused with the spectator’s look, but rather understood,following Lacan’s theorization of the gaze,
to represent the object cause of the desire of the spectator.

Journal of Peace and Justice Studies, 2009

Journal of Peace and Justice Studies, 19 (1) 2009 This paper explores the relationship between... more Journal of Peace and Justice Studies, 19 (1) 2009

This paper explores the relationship between discourse and power through the figure of the veiled woman. Using the example of veiling practices employed by Algerian women during the Algerian Revolution (1954-1962), Ingram argues that while veiled women historically have been produced as Other in Orientalist discourse, they also have subverted these dominant representations by manipulating the significations of the veil.

Feminist Review (on-Line), Jan 1, 2001

This article argues that the act of conceptualizing a female divine, whether by socalled low-brow... more This article argues that the act of conceptualizing a female divine, whether by socalled low-brow Goddess Spiritualists or high-brow French philosophers, rather than being a mere spiritual exercise, has enormous political significance for feminisms. In particular, I demonstrate that Irigaray's concept of the sensible transcendental, by refiguring a god which is both male and female, transcendent and immanent, theorizes a potential dissolution of the binary logic which forms the basis of western philosophy. The second half of the article looks at the complex role of the angel in Irigaray's theory of the divine in order to demonstrate that, as a result of having misinterpreted the angel's position, critics have failed to recognize the significance and relevance of Irigaray's sensible transcendental for feminist politics.

Drafts by Penelope Ingram

This talk was given as part of a panel presentation on white privilege hosted by the Center for A... more This talk was given as part of a panel presentation on white privilege hosted by the Center for African-American Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington, October 5, 2016.

Imperiled Whiteness: How Hollywood and Media Make Race in "Postracial" America , 2023

This is the introduction to my book, __Imperiled Whiteness: How Hollywood and Media Make Race in ... more This is the introduction to my book, __Imperiled Whiteness: How Hollywood and Media Make Race in 'Postracial' America __ published by U Press of Mississippi, 2023

Reading fictional narratives through political ones, I argue that during the
eight years of Obama’s presidency, 2008–2016, and beyond, a variety of media
platforms, including film, television, news, and social media, turned whiteness
into a commodity that was packaged and disseminated to a white populace.
These outlets propagated a narrative of whiteness under attack and did so in
the context and under the guise of progressive “postracial” film and television,
including the most prominent postracial ruse of all—Obama’s presidency.

Details Imperiled Whiteness examines the role played by media in the resurgence of white nationa... more Details
Imperiled Whiteness examines the role played by media in the resurgence of white nationalism and neo-Nazi movements in the Obama to Trump era. As politicians on the right stoked anxieties about whites "losing ground" and "being left behind," media platforms turned whiteness into a commodity that was packaged and disseminated to a white populace. Reading popular film and television franchises (Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, and The Walking Dead)through political flashpoints, such as debates over immigration reform, gun control, and Black Lives Matter protests, Ingram reveals how media produced and disseminated feelings of white vulnerability and loss among white consumers. By exploring the convergence of entertainment, news, and social media in a digital networked environment, Ingram demonstrates how media's renewed attention to "imperiled whiteness" enabled and sanctioned the return of overt white supremacy exhibited by alt-right groups in the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville and the January 6th insurrection.

This book argues that language is central to understanding the relationship between ontology and ... more This book argues that language is central to understanding the relationship between ontology and ethics. Ingram revisits the relationship between representation and matter in the work of Irigaray, Heidegger and Fanon in order to advance a theory of material signification.

SUNY Press, 2008

This is the introduction to my book, The Signifying Body: Toward an Ethics of Sexual and Racial D... more This is the introduction to my book, The Signifying Body: Toward an Ethics of Sexual and Racial Difference.

The Signifying Body reads the work of Luce Irigaray and Frantz Fanon against Heidegger's theory of ontological becoming, arguing that each in their respective critiques of phallogocentrism and colonialism develops an ontology which not only allows for but presumes an ethical relation with an Other.

The Signifying Body suggests that by attending to the materiality of sexual and racial difference, we can imagine ontologies that account for the lived experience of subjects that have traditionally served as the ground/object/thing for the white male humanist subject.

SUNY Press, 2008

This is the conclusion to my book, The Signifying Body: Toward an Ethics of Sexual and Racial Dif... more This is the conclusion to my book, The Signifying Body: Toward an Ethics of Sexual and Racial Difference.

The Signifying Body reads the work of Luce Irigaray and Frantz Fanon against Heidegger's theory of ontological becoming, arguing that each in their respective critiques of phallogocentrism and colonialism develops an ontology which not only allows for but presumes an ethical relation with an Other.

The Signifying Body suggests that by attending to the materiality of sexual and racial difference, we can imagine ontologies that account for the lived experience of subjects that have traditionally served as the ground/object/thing for the white male humanist subject.

Philosophy and Literature, Jan 1, 1999

The association between Virginia Woolf and Roger Fry is well documented and critics generally see... more The association between Virginia Woolf and Roger Fry is well documented and critics generally see in Woolf's art a faithful representation in literature of Fry's aestheticism. This essay attempts to revisit this assumption of a one-to-one correspondence between Woolf's literary production and Fry's artistic philosophy through a reading of Woolf's masterpiece, To the Lighthouse, and through an examination of the influence on that work of the philosophy of G. E. Moore. Just as with Fry, critics have found in Woolf's text resonances with Moore's philosophy; however, if we read To the Lighthouse as a dialogue between Woolf and Fry and Moore, rather than Woolf's homage or tribute to the two men, the novel opens itself up to a new interpretation: as Woolf's philosophical and artistic response to--and not, as many have suggested, an unequivocal adoption of--that tradition of philosophy espoused by Moore, and that theory of aesthetics promulgated by Fry.

Cultural Critique, Jan 1, 1999

This essay examines Gayatri Spivak's theory of subaltern silence in order to proffer a new way of... more This essay examines Gayatri Spivak's theory of subaltern silence in order to proffer a new way of reading the appropriation of voice and native culture in settler texts. In her reading of Janet Frame’s The Carpathians, Ingram demonstrates how the silence of the Maori subalterns enables the production of an "indigenous" voice for the settler, a voice which is unsignifiable and untranslatable, one which would seem to emerge from that very place of undecidability where the "real" subaltern's silence is lodged. In Frame's text, then, it is not the subaltern or the native who recovers a voice, or indeed a "lost origin," out of indeterminate silence but the settler. Ingram thus argues that a major trope in contemporary settler texts is a desire to appropriate the silence of the subaltern.

New Literary History, Jan 1, 2001

Since the beginning of the 1990s scholars from disciplines as diverse as history, sociology, and ... more Since the beginning of the 1990s scholars from disciplines as diverse as history, sociology, and film studies have been engaged in an attempt to theorize the role played by whiteness in the formation of dominant subjectivities. Specifically, these theorists have suggested that most white people experience their whiteness as intangible, universal, or transparent, and they find whiteness to be represented accordingly in literature, film, and other media. This essay explores these issues from a perspective previously unexamined in these theorizations, that of the postcolonial white settler. Ingram examines how settlers, by way of an analysis of the Australian novelist David Malouf's prizewinning work Remembering Babylon, attempt to define themselves as white subjects; that is, how they represent and construct whiteness in general and, importantly, a sense of their own whiteness in particular in literature.

Since his execution in 1880 there have been 12 stage plays, 30 books and 10 films, including what... more Since his execution in 1880 there have been 12 stage plays, 30 books and 10 films, including what is thought to be the first feature film ever made, The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906). Peter Carey's best-selling, prize-winning True History of the Kelly Gang (2000) is the most recent memorial to Kelly and has certainly solidified and revitalized Kelly's status as national icon. Clearly there is no doubt that Kelly is mythologized. What interests me specifically and will be the subject of this paper is the body of Ned Kelly. We are, it seems, not simply fascinated with the story of Ned, but I would argue with the body of Ned. Indeed all of the elements that contribute to a lasting interest in his legend--convict background, English/Irish relations, republican sentiment--get expressed through his embodiment.

Feminist Review, Sep 1, 2000

Essays on JJ Abram's Final Frontier: The Kelvin Timeline of Star Trek, 2019

In 2016, Abrams produced "Beyond," the third installment of the Star Trek reboot, directed by Asi... more In 2016, Abrams produced "Beyond," the third installment of the Star Trek reboot, directed by Asian-American director Justin Lin and featuring black British actor Idris Elba in a lead role as the evil Krall. On the surface, this film appears to be consistent with Abrams’s stated commitment to diversity. Star Trek "Beyond" includes the most diverse cast of all the reboots, and actors of color are given extended story arcs. Idris Elba’s character Krall, who plays the lead antagonist, is central to the film’s exploration of questions of identity and belonging. However, far from the progressive film it seems to be, "Beyond" reproduces some troubling stereotypes and can be seen to reflect the growing racial divide evident in the US towards the end of Barack Obama’s presidency. Indeed, rather than standing as a corrective to Into Darkness, Beyond can be viewed as its natural successor, extending the disturbing racial politics of that film.

Jump Cut, 2018

Despite its overt message of minority group resistance, the new Planet of the Apes franchise enga... more Despite its overt message of minority group resistance, the new Planet of the Apes franchise engages in a form of racial politics that reflects an implicit white fear of an empowered African-American minority.

"The collection of 23 essays provides an exciting snapshot of contemporary theorising on the mate... more "The collection of 23 essays provides an exciting snapshot of contemporary theorising on the maternal within psychoanalytic and social theory. The introduction serves as an excellent overview of this interdisciplinary field and its importance both to motherhood studies and broader feminist thinking. This book is a triumph!"

Assistant Professor Julie Kelso, Department of Philosophy and Literature, Bond University

"Mothering and Psychoanalysis brings together a vibrant collection of critical, interdisciplinary perspectives on psychoanalysis, feminism, motherhood and sociology. In her engaging introduction, Petra Bueskens provides a comprehensive overview of the key debates in the field and their contemporary implications. The collection includes reprinted essays from important thinkers and international contributions from a diverse range of writers who offer fresh and original insights into psychoanalysis and mothering. The book represents some of the best of the new scholarship in maternal studies."

Associate Professor Julie Stephens, College of Arts, Victoria University, Australia

Mothering and Psychoanalysis: Clinical, Sociological, and Feminist Perspectives. Ed. Petra Bueskens, Jun 2014

Through an analysis of the film Babel, I argue that female spectators can be engaged or interpell... more Through an analysis of the film Babel, I argue that female spectators can be engaged or interpellated in ways that defy their role as fetishized objects of the male gaze, through the variety of maternal spaces explored in the film. Specifically, I theorize the presence of a maternal gaze, which contrary to contemporary theorizations of the filmic gaze should not be confused with the spectator’s look, but rather understood,following Lacan’s theorization of the gaze,
to represent the object cause of the desire of the spectator.

Journal of Peace and Justice Studies, 2009

Journal of Peace and Justice Studies, 19 (1) 2009 This paper explores the relationship between... more Journal of Peace and Justice Studies, 19 (1) 2009

This paper explores the relationship between discourse and power through the figure of the veiled woman. Using the example of veiling practices employed by Algerian women during the Algerian Revolution (1954-1962), Ingram argues that while veiled women historically have been produced as Other in Orientalist discourse, they also have subverted these dominant representations by manipulating the significations of the veil.

Feminist Review (on-Line), Jan 1, 2001

This article argues that the act of conceptualizing a female divine, whether by socalled low-brow... more This article argues that the act of conceptualizing a female divine, whether by socalled low-brow Goddess Spiritualists or high-brow French philosophers, rather than being a mere spiritual exercise, has enormous political significance for feminisms. In particular, I demonstrate that Irigaray's concept of the sensible transcendental, by refiguring a god which is both male and female, transcendent and immanent, theorizes a potential dissolution of the binary logic which forms the basis of western philosophy. The second half of the article looks at the complex role of the angel in Irigaray's theory of the divine in order to demonstrate that, as a result of having misinterpreted the angel's position, critics have failed to recognize the significance and relevance of Irigaray's sensible transcendental for feminist politics.

This talk was given as part of a panel presentation on white privilege hosted by the Center for A... more This talk was given as part of a panel presentation on white privilege hosted by the Center for African-American Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington, October 5, 2016.