Erin Sullivan Blog 1

I found DuBois' article, Of  the Culture of White Folk, to be extremely interesting as it analyzes how race, culture, religion, wealth, and overall ways of life differ throughout the world and what these differences amount to in the larger scheme of international politics.  DuBois touches on the hierarchies which can form between individuals and groups with these differences, and continues to imply that European countries are a dominating presence in international politics.  He quotes, “Perhaps we , as folk of simpler souls and more primitive type have been most struck in the welter of recent years by the utter failure of ehite religion (434).”  To me, this signified DuBois’ observance that larger international powers take dominance over minority groups, whether those groups are a race, religion, or smaller or lesser developed country.  Dubois follows this statement by touching on the idea of the white savior complex, elaborating on how those who are in power are typically white and Christian, and are in power because of these characteristics, despite not handling international affairs in productive or efficient ways.  He questions, “but why is it better? Is it better because Europeans are better, nobler, greater and more gifted than other folk? (437),” and concludes that the only traits which set Europe apart were earlier developments and technology and the widespread use of them, and wealth.  He also emphasizes how this dominance of white culture in international relations can be extremely violent, these ideas allow him to theorize that Europe may not be intentionally or inherently bad, they just want to share their goodness, but have a difficult time executing this sharing of wealth, knowledge, and beliefs.  DuBois feels that the intentions are oftentimes positive, however the execution of these ideas cannot be done in a sustainable or productive way, therefore causing harm to the receiving group or country.

I found this article to be particularly compelling, especially after taking a comparative politics course last semester and understanding how to analyze how events in one country can lead to other seemingly unrelated events and conflicts both in and outside of that country.  I have also encountered DuBois’ work in an introductory sociology class, and was unaware that his work encompassed international politics.  I feel that the topics brought up in this article are still  relevant today as white savior and superiority complex are so prevalent in  our society.  I have only ever thought about white savior complexes on an international level, but rather only individual or smaller scale levels prior to reading this, like the negative effects of mission trips and how tourism can exploit local individuals and resources.  This allowed me to make connections such as understanding why the United States frequently inserts itself in international affairs to only seem to create more of a mess; now I understand that it is more about the assertion of power rather than genuine interest in doing good.  This article has led me to question what changes would have to be made on societal, national, and international levels in order to shift this international control from minority groups, to the majority in order to facilitate better and more productive international relations.