ABSTRACT
In moments of solitude, when I sit down with my computer and my thoughts in order to grapple with the complexities of race, there is a certain mindset that comes over me. The written word allows me to be bold and provocative. Yet, though I find writing about race to be liberating, my mindset toward teaching courses that explore race is exactly the opposite: I never find it easy. To be clear, it is not difficult to engage with students about issues such as affirmative action or the connection between race, gender, and poverty. Such topics are familiar enough that the lines of discussions about them are already drawn out and tend to follow established patterns. While they are rarely unnerving, one topic, in particular, causes butterflies to form in my stomach, and often leads me to re-read my notes over and over again: this is the topic of whiteness. Teaching, not writing, about whiteness is, for me, a soul-shaking experience; one that is nerve-racking, but powerful.
