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Semiotics, the study of signs and symbols, examines the manner in which words and language are used to naturalize concepts that are in actuality culturally constructed. These concepts are socialized from an early age to the point where people take these concepts as givens, as natural laws that need not be questioned. Semioticians would be impressed by Altman's book because of the manner in which Altman deconstructs words and concepts such as “white,” “black,” and “white privilege.” Before exploring these terms, let's begin by examining the word “race.” This word itself is an excellent example of naturalizing a concept in that race in actually refers to a cultural construct. Ta-Nehisi Coates (2017) depicts this as follows:
When we say ‘race’ as opposed to ‘racism,’ we reify the idea that race is somehow a feature of the natural world and racism the predictable result of it. Despite the body of scholarship that has accumulated to show that this formulation is backwards, that racism precedes race, Americans still haven't quite gotten the point. (p. xi)
We are all embedded in context. We are also embedded in language, and furthermore, implicit racist bias is embedded in the way we use words and language. One of the goals, if not the foremost goal, of Altman's book is to examine how words and language are used to infiltrate people's minds with concepts that support prejudice and thereby reinforce the values and power dynamics of the dominant group. Through the process of socialization, we all internalize “meaning systems that we have inherited from our families and our cultures” (p. 12). Altman writes, “The imaginations of children are colonized by this sort of training in the use of words” (p. 2). Given the subject matter, Altman could not have chosen a more apt word than colonized.
As an example of Altman's deconstructive efforts, let's take a look at the words white and black as well as the concept of white privilege. When we hear the word white, we associate to the pur