Kris Acheson
Fall 2007
College of Design South, Room 234
M/W 9:15 – 10:30 am
COM 494: Special Topics: Communicating Whiteness
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
In this course, we will examine the (especially, but not exclusively U.S. American) social identity of
Whiteness by surveying the quickly-expanding body of literature known as Whiteness Studies, as well as
literature that pre-dates this field and literature that critiques the field. Approached from a critical perspective
and focusing on both embodiment and discourse, the course will be both theoretical and practical, and will
explore the simultaneous distinction and connection between whiteness and white bodies. The course has
been designed to encourage students to engage in self-reflexivity about their own cultures, their
intersubjectivities, and their often unconscious performances of their cultural identities. Readings, class
discussion, and journaling will push students, whether they consider themselves white or not, to reflect on
how their identities are shaped by and in relation to whiteness. The course is organized around units that
include Preparing to confront whiteness, Before “Whiteness Studies,” White privilege, Intersectionality, The
rhetoric of whiteness, Whiteness in the media, Criticisms of the field, Our classroom, and What (not) to do
about whiteness. Assessments mainly take the form of written assignments such as journals, a short paper,
and a final essay exam but also include discussion leadership and participation/attendance grades.
INSTRUCTOR: Kris Acheson, PhD Candidate in Intercultural Communication
Contact Information: office Stauffer Hall 316; office phone 965-9289; e-mail acheson@asu.edu
Office Hours: M/W 11:00am to noon, and by appointment
TEXTS:
 Jensen, R. (2005). The heart of whiteness: Confronting race, racism, and white privilege. San Francisco,
CA: City Lights Publishers.
 Wise, T. (2005). White like me: Reflections on race from a privileged son. Brooklyn, NY: Soft Skull
Press.
 Readings in a course pack available at Alternative Copy
CLASS NORMS:
 Students should plan to attend class regularly. Attendance is essential to learning in this course.
 The instructor should be prepared and knowledgeable, should present material in class that is relevant to
the subject matter, and should seek out answers to questions she cannot answer.
 The students should keep up with the readings for the course. If you do not read you will be very
unprepared for class (and it will probably be obvious to both the instructor and to other students), and
you will be unable to complete the writing assignments.
 The instructor should be enthusiastic about teaching and should encourage students to actively engage
with the course material.
 The students should be interested in learning, and should make an effort to apply what we read about and
discuss to their own personal experiences.
 The instructor should be available to students by email and during office hours.
 The students should take responsibility for their own learning, asking questions when material or
assignment instructions are unclear.
 Everyone should come to class on time, with their cell phones turned OFF.
 Everyone should express opinions in an appropriate way that demonstrates respect for the diverse
people that are a part of this class. This does NOT mean that we need to come to an agreement when we
disagree, but that we commit ourselves to creating a space where people may express their views,
knowing that those views may be challenged but that they themselves will not be personally attacked.
LATE WORK: I will not accept assignments or papers as ‘on-time’ after the start of class on the due date. If
you know you will be absent and want to turn in an assignment, you or a classmate or friend must place it in
my hands (not in my mailbox, not under my office door, and not in an email) before class starts on the day it
is due. An assignment that is turned in late will be penalized at the rate of 20% for the first day and 10%
every day after.
EVALUATION & GRADING: There will be no extra credit for this course. Your grade will be determined
by your performance in:
1. Personal Reflection Journals
350 points
2. Discussion Leadership (50 pts. X 3)
150 points
3. Media Short Paper
100 points
4. Attendance and Participation
200 points
5. Final In-class Essay Exam
200 points
TOTAL
1000 points
GRADING SCALE:
A+
=
A
=
A=
B+
=
B
=
985-1000 points
915-984 points
895-914 points
875-894 points
815-874 points
BC+
C
D
E
=
=
=
=
=
795-814 points
775-794 points
695-774 points
595-694 points
Below 595
Note that grades are already rounded up half a percentage point. Grade divisions are thus strict: If
you earn 894 points you have a B+. Period. No extra credit opportunities will be available.
If you would like to appeal a grade, you may do so in writing no sooner than 24 hours and no later
than 7 days after receiving your grade. Please prepare an argument that supports your feelings on the matter.
Grades are not given by the instructor; they are earned by the students. A C represents average
work, a B represents above average work, and an A represents truly outstanding work. Therefore, merely
meeting the minimum requirements of an assignment does not earn an A in this course.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: All of the work you submit in this course should be original – completed by
you alone and for this course alone. You are responsible for knowing this policy and for being aware of
what constitutes as cheating, plagiarizing, or any other form of academic dishonesty. This is an issue taken
very seriously by the university, and the instructor may punish offenders with an E or XE in the course.
ATTENDANCE: Attendance and participation are an integral part of your learning process in this course. You
are allowed 2 unexcused absences without penalty. Beyond that, each unexcused absence will cost you 10
points from your participation grade. Absences will only be excused according to university policy with
acceptable documentation and prior notification.
ASSIGNMENTS: (more details to be provided later via Blackboard)




Personal Reflection Journals: In these journals, which should be updated several times
weekly, you will be responding to readings, class discussions and life experiences. I will at
times provide you with additional writing prompts. Entries from units 1 & 2 are worth 100
points total, as are those from units 3 & 4. Entries from units 5, 7, 8, & 9 are 150 points total.
Journals must be typed and formatted correctly (an example will be provided). They will be
submitted and graded anonymously. Students may also have an opportunity to contribute their
journals anonymously to a research project for extra credit.
Class Discussion Leading: All students are expected to engage in and contribute to class
discussions on a regular basis. However, 3 times during the semester, each student must take
responsibility for leading the discussion by a) writing discussion questions on readings for the
day, b) posting these questions on Blackboard at least 24 hours in advance, and c) facilitating
the in-class discussion that day. Sign-up will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Multiple
students may sign up for the same day, but no student may lead more than once during a unit.
Media Short Paper: After Unit 6, a short argument paper of 4-5 pages is due. The paper must
reference the in-class or an approved alternate movie and at least 5 additional sources from
course readings, but no additional research is necessary or expected.
Final Exam: This in-class essay test will last approximately 2 hours and cover concepts from
each unit of the semester. A study guide and a list of possible questions will be provided.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF READINGS & ASSIGNMENTS
Day Dates Topics
Readings Due
Assignments Due
M
W
Aug 20
Aug 22
Introduction
Unit 1:Preparing to confront
Whiteness
Unit 1
Unit 1
Labor Day
Unit 2:Before “Whiteness
Studies”
M
W
M
W
Aug 27
Aug 29
Sept 3
Sept 5
M
Sept 10
Unit 2
W
Sept 12
Unit 2
M
Sept 17
Unit 2
W
M
Sept 19
Sept 24
Unit 3: White privilege
Unit 3
W
M
W
Sept 26
Oct 1
Oct 3
M
Oct 8
Unit 3
Unit 3
Unit 4: Whiteness and
intersectionality
Unit 4
W
Oct 10
Unit 4
M
W
M
W
M
W
M
Oct 15
Oct 17
Oct 22
Oct 24
Oct 29
Oct 31
Nov 5
Unit 5: Rhetoric of whiteness
Unit 5
Unit 6: Whiteness in the media
Unit 6
Unit 6
Unit 6
Unit 7: Criticisms of the field
W
Nov 7
Unit 7
M
W
M
Nov 12
Nov 14
Nov 19
Veteran’s Day
Unit 7
Unit 8: Our classroom
W
Nov 21
Unit 8
M
Nov 26
W
M
Nov 28
Dec 3
Unit 9: What (not) to do with
whiteness
Unit 9
Unit 9
FINAL EXAM
Syllabus and Schedule
Zingsheim (in press) pp. 1-3
Segrest (2002) pp. 157-175
Jensen (2005) pp. xiii-26
Jensen (2005) pp. 27-65
No Class
Roediger (1998): hooks pp. 38-53,
Jacobs pp. 336-337, Baldwin pp.
255-273, du Bois pp. 29-37
Fanon (1967) pp. 17-40
Said (1979) pp. 27-41
Deloria (1969) pp. 1-27
Guterson (1995) pp. 113-133
Morrison (1972) pp. 165-206
Hughes (1934) Ch. 8, 11, 14
Wise (2005) pp. 15-59
Martin et al. (1996)
Bahk & Jandt (2004)
Avant-Mier & Hasian, Jr. (2002)
Roediger (1999)
McIntosh (1997)
Grillo & Wildman (1997)
Segrest (1994) pp. 1-12, 87-102
Zingsheim (2004)
de la Garza (2004) pp. 131-136
Anzaldúa (1990): Smith pp. 25-28,
Leyson pp. 97-101, Zamora pp. 131132, Jordan 174-176, Marín pp. 183190, Gunn Allen pp. 298-301
Johnson (1998)
Nakayama & Krizek (1995)
Crenshaw (1997)
Dyer (1988)
Seiter (1990) and deCordova (1990)
Dubrofsky (2006)
Madison (1999)
Alcoff (2006) pp. 247-263
Delgado (1998)
Ignatiev (1997) p. 613
Moon & Flores (2000)
Shome (2000)
No Class
Carrillo Rowe & Malhotra (2006)
Warren (2001)
Cooks (2003)
Warren & Hytten (2004)
Miller & Harris (2005)
Johnson (2000) pp. vii-x
and pp. 117-136
Acheson (2006)
Jensen (2005) pp. 67-96
Wise (2005) pp. 61-99
In class essay test
Sue (2003) activity
“Do You Oppress?”*
Journals Due (100 pts)
Journals Due (100 pts)
No journals due this unit
Crash (2005) viewing
Crash (2005) viewing
Short Paper Due
Race Traitor website
exploration
Journal Due (150 pts)
*Sue, D. W. (2003). Overcoming our racism: The journey to liberation. San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass.
Course Readings
Unit 1: Preparing to confront whiteness
Zingsheim, J. (in press). [Encyclopedia entry] Whiteness and white supremacy. In A. Lind (Ed.),
Battleground: Women and gender. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Segrest, M. (2002). Born to belonging: Writings on spirit and justice. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP.
Unit 2: Whiteness before “Whiteness Studies”
Selections from:
Roediger, D.R. (1998). Black on white: Black writers on what it means to be white. New York:
Schocken Books.
“Representations of whiteness in the black imagination” by bell hooks
“Muster” by Harriet Jacobs
“Going to meet the man” by James Baldwin
“Dialogue with a white friend” by W. E. B. du Bois
Fanon, F. (1967). Black skin, White masks, (C. L. Markmann, Trans.). New York: Grove Press.
Said, E. W. (1979). Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books.
Deloria, Jr., V. (1969). Custer died for your sins: An Indian manifesto. New York: Macmillan.
Guterson, D. (1995). Snow falling on cedars. New York: Vintage Books.
Morrison, T. (1972). The bluest eye. New York: Washington Square Press.
Hughes, L. (1990). The ways of white folks. New York: Vintage.
Unit 3: White privilege
Martin, J. N., Krizek, R. L., Nakayama, T. K., & Bradford, L. (1996). Exploring Whiteness: A study of
self-labels for White Americans. Communication Quarterly, 44, 125-144.
Bahk, C. M., & Jandt, F. E. (2004). Being White in America: Development of a scale. The Howard
Journal of Communications, 15, 57-68.
Avant-Mier, R., & Hasian, Jr., M. (2002). In search of the power of Whiteness: A genealogical
exploration of negotiated racial identities in America’s ethnic past. Communication Quarterly,
50, 391-409.
Roediger, D. R. (1999). The pursuit of whiteness: Property, terror, and expansion, 1790-1860. Journal
of the Early Republic, 19, 579-600.
Unit 4: Whitenss and intersectionality
McIntosh, P. (1998). White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see
correspondence through work in women’s studies. In M. L. Anderson & P. H. Collins (Eds.),
Race, class, and gender: An anthology (p. 76-87). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.
Grillo, T. & Wildman, S. M. (2000). Obscuring the importance of race: The implication of making
comparisons between racism and sexism (or other –isms). In R. Delgado & J. Stefancic (Eds.),
Critical Race Theory: The cutting edge (pp. 648-656). Philidelphia: Temple.
Segrest, M. (1994). Memoir of a race traitor. Boston: South End Press.
Zingsheim, J. (2004). White laughter: Rhetorical strategies of Whiteness in Friends. Unpublished
manuscript.
de la Garza, S. A.(2004). Maria speaks: Journeys through the mysteries of the mother in my life as a
Chicana. New York: Peter Lang.
Selections from:
Anzaldúa, G. (Ed.). (1990). Making face, making soul/Haciendo caras: Creative and critical
perspectives by women of color. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Books.
“Racism and women’s studies” by Barbara Smith
“The visit home” by Rosemary Cho Leyson
“Notes from a Chicana ‘Coed’” by Bernice Zamora
“Where is the love” by June Jordan
“Her rites of passage” by Lynda Marín
“Some like Indians endure” by Paula Gunn Allen
Johnson, K. R. (1998). The intersection of immigration status, ethnicity, gender, and class. In R.
Delgado & J. Stefancic (Eds.), The Latino/a condition: A critical reader (p. 376-380). New
York: New York UP.
Unit 5: The rhetoric of whiteness
Nakayama, T. K., & Krizek, R. L. (1995). Whiteness: A strategic rhetoric. Quarterly Journal of
Speech, 81, 291-309.
Crenshaw, C. (1997). Resisting whiteness’ rhetorical silence. Western Journal of Communication,
61(3), 253-278.
Unit 6: Whiteness in the media
Dyer, R. (1988). White. Screen, 29, 44-65.
Seiter, E. (1990). Different children, different dreams: Racial representation in advertising.
Communication Inquiry, 14, 31-47.
deCordova, R. (1990). Notes on stereotype research: A response to Ellen Seiter. Communication
Inquiry, 14, 48-50.
Dubrofsky, R. E. (2006). The Bachelor: Whiteness in the harem. Critical Studies in Media
Communication, 23, 39-56.
Madison, K. J. (1999). Legitimation crisis and containment: The “anti-racist-white-hero” film. Critical
Studies in Mass Communication, 16, 399-416.
Unit 7: Criticisms of the field
Alcoff, L. M. (2006). Visible identities: Race, gender, and the self. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Delgado, R. (1998). The black/white binary: How does it work? In R. Delgado & J. Stefancic (Eds.),
The Latino/a condition: A critical reader (p. 369-375). New York: New York UP.
Ignatiev, N. (1997). How to be a race traitor: Six ways to fight being white. In R. Delgado & J.
Stefancic (Eds.), Critical whiteness studies: Looking behind the mirror (p. 613). New York:
New York UP.
Moon, D., & Flores, L. (2000). Antiracism and the abolition of Whiteness: Rhetorical strategies of
domination among ‘race traitors.’ Communication Studies, 51, 97-115.
Shome, R. (2000). Outing Whiteness. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 17, 366-371.
Carrillo Rowe, A. & Malhotra, S. (2006). (Un)hinging Whiteness. In Mark P. Orbe, Brenda J. Allen &
Lisa A. Flores (Eds.), International and Intercultural Communication Annual. (Vol. XXIX, pp.
166-192). Washington D.C.: NCA.
Unit 8: Our classroom
Warren, J. T. (2001). Doing Whiteness: On the performative dimensions of race in the classroom.
Communication Education, 50, 91-108.
Cooks, L. (2003). Pedagogy, performance, and positionality: Teaching about whiteness in Interracial
Communication. Communication Education, 52, 245-257.
Warren, J. T., & Hytten, K. (2004). The faces of Whiteness: Pitfalls and the Critical Democrat.
Communication Education, 53, 321-339.
Miller, A. N., & Harris, T. M. (2005). Communicating to develop white racial identity in an interracial
communication class. Communication Education, 54, 223-242.
Unit 9: What (not) to do about whiteness
Johnson, A. G. (2000). Privilege, power, and difference. Boston: McGraw Hill.
Acheson, K. (2006). Black shepherd, white sheep: A phenomenological study of a Southern church.
Race, Gender & Class, 13, 170-190.