Very Liberal Workplace

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Where were you? I’ve heard good things about LeMoyne in Syracuse and the old Jesuit College in Wheeling WV. They really did take an interest in the locals.
 
Him doing this makes him a racist if he’s black or brown and a virtue signalling guilt ridden hypocrite if he’s white.
 
I still don’t think this is as much about race as it is about a power grab. We hear about racism indicated by not enough multi millionaire sports owners. Really? Like I care at all about this? Or a professor who doesn’t get a curriculum they want? That’s not racism it’s about power. Now let’s talk about real racism as seen in the deteriorating cities and lack of any meaningful help. Let’s talk about racism of keeping a person down and not the perceived racism of someone not getting what they want, or even selling a book for profit. Sheesh!!
 
One can read, discuss, and benefit from books without agreeing with every argument they make. “White Fragility” has many helpful insights one can apply without becoming a crypto Marxist. I’m guessing you’d have no trouble reading Thomas Jefferson without adopting his views on religion. Is there any chance your difficulty doing this with “White Fragility” an example of white fragility?
 
Perhaps you should talk to your supervisor. Communication is what usually works best.
 
4gospels said:
The book he selected for us to lead on is “White Fragility.”
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See, this is why I asked you what the book was. Liberals love to claim they’re doing things like “defeating racism” and “promoting social justice,” while what they actually do is deride and mock an entire race.

My suggestion is don’t do it. I think you’re being tested, and if you don’t stand up for yourself (or just decline without elaboration), then you’ll only have to go deeper.
 
Hmm. Ok so do you have suspicions that you being white is being used to put you into this position rather than a random assignment?

From the perspective of just a job, I’m guessing it would be on you to teach the class, even if that wasn’t what you personally agreed with. Could you always say things like “the author asserts”, “the book implies”, “How do you think the author would feel regarding”… statements like this to make sure your personal opinion is left out if it?

If you think this is outside the normal job description… would it be possible to voice your concerns?
If your concerned that your race is being used to put you in a compromising position (…ie being used to promote something you disagree with in an unfair way) to me that’s a more significant issue. And maybe even a legal one? But this is also the first time this has occurred so it would be tough to infer a pattern from a single incident.
Based solely on what you’ve described I get a bit of a bad taste. But that said it’s also early in the job and hard to tell. I’m just some random guy on the Internet and not in the situation, so it’s up to you. I would be curious what @njlisa thoughts who sounds like they have some experience in academia.

I personally would teach the class making sure to be clear that it’s the authors opinions and not your own. Perhaps play it by ear, unless something happens, or your expected to present material clearly against Catholic doctrine. If it’s continually violating your personal values it might be worth it to look for work elsewhere.
 
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I think the author’s point that many white people get bent out of shape when the topic of race comes up, and make the conversation about how they’re the real victims is fairly accurate in my experience.
 
4gospels said:
it posits that individualism (and thus the inherent dignity of every human) is a myth
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You realize that the inherit value in every human being is not individualism, right?
4gospels said:
The author claims that American culture promotes the myth of individuality
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It does. The American culture promotes the idea that people who are poor, who lack power and prestige, are that way because they did not work or “want it” hard enough. This is also contrary to Catholic teaching.
 
I have not read this book and probably wont. That being said, having the wonderful experience of being refused service due to race identity perceptions, I see it good for educators to put this on the map. I see it as educating in a broad way because racism is about those who look or act, or whose customs are different.
 
4gospels said:
The book he selected for us to lead on is “White Fragility.”
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Have you read it yet?

If you have, and find that parts of it are problematic, you could build a class around discussing both those parts and why they fall short of the mark. It would have to be based around actual evidence though, not any “feelings” that the book is wrong.

I haven’t read the book yet, but I intend to. Regardless of its quality, it does, at the minimum raise a profound critique of our society: people who self identify as white have historically been very defensive of their disproportionate political and economic power. If the book doesn’t satisfactorily explain why this is the case, perhaps your discussion could try to illuminate it.

It can’t be denied that Americans who self identify as white, are very defensive about their disproportionate influence in society. That has actual consequences, and these are a meaningful avenue of inquiry.

On the Marxist point, again I haven’t read the book, but Marxism is a very popular framework in which to discuss race. Whether directly, through the concept of economic classes, or indirectly, through social conflict theory, Marxism has been very useful in helping to explain race. Just because a scholar is using a Marxist framework does not make them a socialist or communist. Those are economic and political systems, not social or historical theories. Marx himself, once famously quipped that “I am not a Marxist.”

And certainly, all non-Marxists have to engage Marxist frameworks in academic debate. There is nothing wrong with that.

Perhaps you could learn something through this assignment. Perhaps it’s a good book (I’ll find out myself soon enough)!
 
RobertAdams said:
I think the author’s point that many white people get bent out of shape when the topic of race comes up, and make the conversation about how they’re the real victims is fairly accurate in my experience.
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Yes, and it’s understandable why they feel that way. Often they feel they are being unfairly blamed for the racial prejudice that happened 100 to 200 years ago. White people who have had to struggle in life or who have experienced prejudice over their own ethnic background, religion, or economic class also don’t like being told they are somehow privileged just because they are white, especially when they see a lot of attention being paid to making places in schools and workforces for racial minorities but no one reaching out to help them.

I agree there is systemic and individual racial prejudice still in society, but raging at and vilifying white people who are trying to behave decently to other humans in the only ways they know how is not going to help mutual understanding. A lot of people have given up on mutual understanding and just want to be angry.
 
Some excellent advice here, OP. I really think it would be a good idea to read through the book yourself first and see what you think. You don’t need to agree with what it says to teach it. I mean, it’s very possible that the author doesn’t agree with some of what they’ve written, but are rather trying to be provocative and start a discussion.

It sounds like there’s a lot of scope for discussion, which is a good thing, at least.
 
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TheLittleLady said:
The American culture promotes the idea that people who are poor, who lack power and prestige, are that way because they did not work or “want it” hard enough. This is also contrary to Catholic teaching.
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Actually the St Vincent de Paul society frames this issue as a difference between the priorities of the poor and the priorities of the middle class (which the US school and employment system accept as the governing values). They do not call one group or the other “contrary to Catholic teaching.”
 
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@4gospels

It would be helpful to tailor your teaching method to the students. With adults, you need to come in on the first day establishing your role and earning their respect. If you are ill at ease, students will sense it. And they’ll tune you out.

Social workers have been to graduate school. They are sophisticated thinkers. They know the difference between theory and fact.
 
Most things people do are “understandable” on some level, but that does not make them reasonable. The book in question is not accusing anyone of being responsible for anything that ocurred “100 years ago,” nor is it “raging” at or “vilifying” white people.

Of course the book is largely about what we are seeing in this thread. Fairly mild discussion of racism leads to white overreactions about being blamed for slavery, vilified or raged against. Hence the name. I think it’s a pretty interesting phenomenon and one worth discussing.
 
4gospels said:
The book he selected for us to lead on is “White Fragility.”
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I hate to say this, but doesn’t your reaction to the book sort of prove its point? With all due respect, you’re in an educational setting! Learning isn’t supposed to be a comfortable process. It’s suppose to shake or stir us like a martini. It should challenge us and even offend us. This is the one time I’ve agreed with Richard Dawkins:
https://twitter.com/x/status/658022567085801472

In short, read the book with your class. Without getting preachy or stepping up on a soapbox, spark a provocative - yet respectful and open-minded - discussion about it with your students.
 
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