There was no mention of a mandatory course in the article, that was my own idea of what would be good for students their first semester on campus. As silly as it sounds a course that stresses tolerance and respect for fellow students and what behaviors are expected of them. Questions that such a class could address could range from what is racism to what is date rape. What resources are there if you find yourself in trouble. It is a class that my imagination put together to make better citizen scholars.
What I took from the article was the implication that most white students need to be taught what it means to be white because of their ignorance of what race means from other perspectives.
I dislike the idea of dividing studies by race or nationality. Ideas seem much more suited to be interwoven into the study of history, society, and culture. Not having the information there and having in its own line of study is to me taking it out of context.
Your question about when to study your own race raises an interesting question. I have often found that the study of that which is not me leads me down paths of thought that eventually lead back to that which is me, and in doing so allows me to go deeper than if I had started with me and then moved on to that which is not me. (I apologize for the wordiness of that last terrible sentence, it was the only way I could find to express the thought in my head. I hope it makes sense.) An example I suppose being that I am a tremendous reader of fiction and many times in thinking about the life of a fictional character I am led to examine myself more deeply. I owe at least part of my sobriety to several sober fictional characters.
ASIDE ONE: I believe that humanity's purpose in the universe is to evolve spiritually and socially. A huge part of that is learning how to honor, respect, care for, and love each other. It is something that I try to get a little better at each day I am alive. Sometimes I am successful, sometimes I am not.
ASIDE TWO: Thanks for the intelligent and stimulating conversation. My mind needed it this afternoon.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2003-06-21 03:27 pm (UTC)What I took from the article was the implication that most white students need to be taught what it means to be white because of their ignorance of what race means from other perspectives.
I dislike the idea of dividing studies by race or nationality. Ideas seem much more suited to be interwoven into the study of history, society, and culture. Not having the information there and having in its own line of study is to me taking it out of context.
Your question about when to study your own race raises an interesting question. I have often found that the study of that which is not me leads me down paths of thought that eventually lead back to that which is me, and in doing so allows me to go deeper than if I had started with me and then moved on to that which is not me. (I apologize for the wordiness of that last terrible sentence, it was the only way I could find to express the thought in my head. I hope it makes sense.) An example I suppose being that I am a tremendous reader of fiction and many times in thinking about the life of a fictional character I am led to examine myself more deeply. I owe at least part of my sobriety to several sober fictional characters.
ASIDE ONE: I believe that humanity's purpose in the universe is to evolve spiritually and socially. A huge part of that is learning how to honor, respect, care for, and love each other. It is something that I try to get a little better at each day I am alive. Sometimes I am successful, sometimes I am not.
ASIDE TWO: Thanks for the intelligent and stimulating conversation. My mind needed it this afternoon.