Internal Racism: Further Explorations

In this seminar I will give an account of work in progress that follows on from the publication of my ideas on internal racism. I will begin with a succinct account of the model of internal racism – covering its essential developmental and dynamic aspects.

Internal racism is a concept that bridges the psychological and the social and in this presentation I will consider how the model attempts to do so. Racist acts are usually played out in the public sphere, and my inquiry began with the assumption that it falls to psychoanalysis to explain the basis for this in the mind. But can one give due weight to psychic forces without resorting to reductionism to a psychological essence? How do psychic processes link with societal ones?

I will suggest that it is the construct validity of the concepts we use that enables us to make a unique contribution to this question.  For instance, the model of internal racism specifies precise ways in which social stereotypes are used for the purpose of projective identification, which can then be studied.