For a Kinder, Gentler Society
Homo Redneckus
On Being Not Qwhite In America
  • William Matthew McCarter
Reviews Table of Contents Introduction «Back
Homo Redneckus. On Being Not Qwhite In America
Sound Bite
Homo Redneckus is a critical reflection on the cultural experience of being a different type of "other" in America -- specifically, a redneck, white-trash, hillbilly cracker. An academic treatise and a good story at the same time, the book traces the plight of those who are "Not Qwhite" through history, popular culture, and personal experience.

About the Author

Dr. William Matthew McCarter teaches English and literature at the college level and has been published in numerous literary and academic journals. He is currently synthesizing his work in creative writing, academic writing and Americana music into a celebration of rural America.

He lives with his wife, author Melissa Miles McCarter, and son Brit, in southeast Missouri where he enjoys gardening, reading and playing music.

About the Book
Discussing questions of race and class in America, we often skip those who are white but are treated as a different kind of "other." A professor of English and literature, Dr. William Matthew McCarter explores the realities of being "Not Qwhite in...
Discussing questions of race and class in America, we often skip those who are white but are treated as a different kind of "other." A professor of English and literature, Dr. William Matthew McCarter explores the realities of being "Not Qwhite in America" from a historical and literary perspective. He interweaves colloquial storytelling with advanced critical strategies in a unique and entertaining fashion. This in-depth analysis is perfect for scholars and laypersons interested in the questions of race and class in the American experience. Starting with his own experience of prejudice and discrimination, and tracing that experience through his own family history, the author provides a framework for others who want to understand the experience of being "othered." The breadth of knowledge he relies on reflects his education in cultural studies, literature, and theory. This book is perfect as a text in college courses, supplementary reading for scholars, or people wanting to dip their toes into a topic that has thus far not gotten much attention. Dr. McCarter welcomes readers to learn more about the cultural studies perspective on race and see how it can be applied to examining their own experiences.
Introduction
In 1994, filmmaker John Waters wrote, 'in six months, no one will say white trash'¦it is the last racist thing you can say and get away with it' (Wray 3). Waters' prophecy has still not come to pass; instead, race specific and class specific terms like redneck, white trash, hillbilly, peckerwood, and cracker are arguably more often used in...
In 1994, filmmaker John Waters wrote, 'in six months, no one will say white trash'¦it is the last racist thing you can say and get away with it' (Wray 3). Waters' prophecy has still not come to pass; instead, race specific and class specific terms like redneck, white trash, hillbilly, peckerwood, and cracker are arguably more often used in contemporary discourse than they were in 1994. Co-opted and commodified representations of rednecks and white trash proliferate on cable television. Shows like 'The Naked Trucker and T-Bone Show' and 'Blue Collar TV' could be described as nothing more than 'working class Samboism.' These television shows help the hegemony to Other the Southern poor white working classes in America. And if the rhetoric of humor isn't enough to drive the point home about us rednecks, the cable networks show dramatic films like Deliverance that portray us Southern country folk as monstrous grotesques that should be feared and not just laughed at. This visual rhetoric and the speech acts that accompany it help to reinforce the hegemony's idea of the merits of capitalism and the myth that if citizens work hard every day, then they can achieve the American Dream. In other words, we don't HAVE to be indolent, lazy, xenophobic redneck crackers, we CHOOSE to be. Therefore, we don't deserve to feed at the trough of the new economy with all of Robert Reich's 'knowledge workers.' We deserve our lot in life because we are rednecks and there is no room in the global economy for us backward hillbilly crackers. We are just anachronisms that refuse to adapt to globalization and therefore, deserve to be ground into the economic dirt because of our conscious aversion to economic progress. Each time a textile mill closes in the South, I can almost hear the faint whisper of a CEO saying, 'Let them eat SPAM'¦They probably do anyway.' ...

Pages 288
Year: 2012
LC Classification: E184.A1M345 2012
Dewey code: 305.800973'dc23
BISAC: SOC020000
Soft Cover
ISBN: 978-0-87586-921-6
Price: USD 23.95
Hard Cover
ISBN: 978-0-87586-922-3
Price: USD 33.95
eBook
ISBN: 978-0-87586-923-0
Price: USD 23.95
Available from

Search the full text of this book

Reader's Comments

    There are no reader's comments for this book.

Add a Reader's Comment

Note HTML is not translated

Rating : Bad Good

captcha