DEAR BI CAREER CONSULTANTS:
For years, I’ve been teaching course in which the issue of race was
virtually irrelevant. Recently, I’ve developed an interest in working
the matter of race and culture into my course, but I fear that by doing
so, I’ll be marginalized by colleagues on the faculty. Should I even
bother, and if I do, how should I handle it?
DR. BILLY JOE EVANS Professor of Chemistry, University of Michigan Visiting Professor, Morehouse College
If questions of race have a legitimate place in your course, then
by all means, include them. In my instruction in chemistry, I have not
been faced with such questions, except in an anecdotal fashion, but I
have found the success of my African colleagues to be remarkable in
their courses in the social sciences and humanities.
Issues of race are, of course, eagerly anticipated by students at
the historically Black colleges and universities. At many predominantly
White colleges and universities, one’s colleagues and students may
often be willing to acquiesce to the perceived expertise and eminence
of Black scholars on matters of race, particularly on issues involving
African Americans.
It is critical that the inclusion of issues of race has a sound
intellectual basis for being a part of the course. One’s approach must
be disinterested, incisive, and not one of the simple advocacy. You
must present the students and resources that they could not generate
and access by themselves. Many students wish to be challenged with
rigorous arguments and conceptual developments; and I believe this to
be particularly so on issues of race.
Leave no stone unturned in knowing the literature, from the
earliest publications to the most recent. Do this neither out of fear
nor simply to demonstrate that you know the field. Possessing such a
comprehensive knowledge of what has been done is necessary in order for
you to encourage students to inquire and so that you will have the
confidence that your responses will stimulate their continued interest,
while also building their trust in your scholarly commitment.
