Books
The Jungian Psychology of White Privilege:
Colin Kaepernick, the NFL Anthem Protests and the Visceral Lethality of
Eliminationist Violence
Colin Kaepernick, the NFL Anthem Protests and the Visceral Lethality of
Eliminationist Violence
Published in Routledge’s Research in Analytical Psychology and Jungian Studies series.
Release: November 3, 2026
In this book Dennis blends psychological analysis, cultural critique, and literary journalism to understand the unconscious dynamics perpetuating white supremacy, white fragility, and white Christian nationalism in the United States.
The piece focuses on the white American response to Colin Kaepernick and the 2016-17 NFL anthem protests to unpack the white entitlement and shame that underlie the fantasy of white supremacy. The book also uses Jungian concepts to illuminate the ways the social invention of race and enslavement of blacks cast a transgenerational shadow that drives anti-black racism and its denial—both of which protect the fragile white sense of self, white privilege, and the power dynamic that positions whites above non-whites.
In particular the writer explores how white Christian nationalism is seen to fuse religion, white supremacy, and patriotism into a power that gains sustenance from the death of black bodies. Providing readers with psychological tools oriented to sociocultural change, the book ends by discussing the transpersonal, mythological patterns that Kaepernick and his protest evoke and the crucial nature of individuation—becoming accountable for our shadow—to the work of ending racism and white supremacy.
Pre-order from Routledge at:
https://www.routledge.com/The-Jungian-Psychology-of-White-Privilege-Colin-Kaepernick-the-NFL-Anthem-Protests-and-the-Visceral-Lethality-of-Eliminationist-Violence/Pottenger/p/book/9781041223061
Release: November 3, 2026
In this book Dennis blends psychological analysis, cultural critique, and literary journalism to understand the unconscious dynamics perpetuating white supremacy, white fragility, and white Christian nationalism in the United States.
The piece focuses on the white American response to Colin Kaepernick and the 2016-17 NFL anthem protests to unpack the white entitlement and shame that underlie the fantasy of white supremacy. The book also uses Jungian concepts to illuminate the ways the social invention of race and enslavement of blacks cast a transgenerational shadow that drives anti-black racism and its denial—both of which protect the fragile white sense of self, white privilege, and the power dynamic that positions whites above non-whites.
In particular the writer explores how white Christian nationalism is seen to fuse religion, white supremacy, and patriotism into a power that gains sustenance from the death of black bodies. Providing readers with psychological tools oriented to sociocultural change, the book ends by discussing the transpersonal, mythological patterns that Kaepernick and his protest evoke and the crucial nature of individuation—becoming accountable for our shadow—to the work of ending racism and white supremacy.
Pre-order from Routledge at:
https://www.routledge.com/The-Jungian-Psychology-of-White-Privilege-Colin-Kaepernick-the-NFL-Anthem-Protests-and-the-Visceral-Lethality-of-Eliminationist-Violence/Pottenger/p/book/9781041223061