Abstract
White Supremacy Groups operate under an ideology that promotes the power and pride of the white race over other racial groups. These organizations may aim to impose their views through political acts, subversion of media, or explicit acts of violence. Due to the rising discussions of extremism and political divide in the United States, this research looks to understand the functions behind white supremacy groups: Who is involved, why do they become involved, what does involvement look like, and how do they leave? This project will first address current literature on the topic of white supremacy groups, hate groups, and extremist organizations. This will be followed by a brief discussion of various academic theories that help to explain the trends seen within the literature review. Further data will then be collected through a detailed review of public sources on the life histories of six former white supremacy group members. This data will be analyzed for common themes, which will then be discussed in terms of existing literature and the aforementioned academic theories. This work then concludes with a discussion of the major findings as well as suggestions for the ways in which this discussion could be expanded with further research.
Advisor
Miyawaki, Michael
Department
Sociology and Anthropology
Recommended Citation
Cantrell, Eli, "Home is Where the Hate is: An Investigation into the Influence of Social Bonds on the Experiences of Former Members of White Supremacy Groups" (2024). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 11195.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/11195
Disciplines
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Keywords
White Supremacy, Racism, Race, Extremism, KKK, Neo-Nazi, Hate crime, White Supremacist
Publication Date
2024
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2024 Eli Cantrell