Ari Helo : The Lost Wages of Whiteness Studies

Because of its huge popularity in the humanities and social sciences it is easy to imagine that the fashionable field of whiteness studies must have some innovative scholarly value. This book proves that it has none. And it proves it by direct quotations from intersectional whiteness scholars themselves.

The problem is about credibility of academic social studies research in general, which intersectionality puts at risk because of its fundamental methodological deficiencies. Despite their nobly humanist purposes, intersectional scholars fail to follow any academically valid procedure of argumentation. They do not strengthen, but weaken our understanding of academically valid argumentation and research.

"Ari Helo's interrogation of intersectional theory employs precise logic and insistent empiricism to criticize a doctrine he regards as over-generalized and inattentive to specific histories, cultural diversities, and unique personal identities.”
Jeffrey L. Meikle, Professor Emeritus (University of Texas at Austin)

“In this timely and provoking study, Helo emerges as a staunch defender of traditional science and scholarship, who does not tolerate academic fads nor methodological sloppiness.”
Mikko Saikku, Professor (University of Helsinki)

Ari Helo (Ph.D) is a Docent/Adjunct Professor in Intellectual History and in North American Studies. He has held Senior University Lecturer positions in Intellectual History (University of Oulu), in Cultural Studies (University of Vaasa), and in North American Studies (University of Helsinki). He also worked as a research fellow for several years in Early American History (University of Virginia). Helo's scholarly articles have been published in Britain, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Russia, and the United States. His several books include Thomas Jefferson's Ethics and the Politics of Human Progress (New York: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2014) and History, Politics, and the American Past: Essays on Methodology (New York: Routledge, 2020).