The University's recent cancellation of the popular course "History and Development of Racism" has left many students concerned and confused. The course, which was canceled about two weeks before spring registration began, has been a staple of the philosophy department for 28 years. The University plans to reincorporate the course, after taking this semester to revise it, within the African and African diaspora studies department (AADS), where it will be taught by regular department faculty.
Paul Marcus, the current instructor, has taught the course - commonly called "HDR" - for five semesters, after co-teaching with former instructor Horace Seldon for 24 semesters. Marcus serves as the executive director of Community Change, Inc., an outreach program challenging racism and systems of power through workshops and seminars, which was founded by Seldon in 1968. Though he has extensive experience teaching at various levels of education and interacting with the community, Marcus does not hold an advanced degree.
Despite the abrupt nature of the cancellation, University officials said the school was not abandoning the topic. "Please be assured that Boston College is deeply committed to offering its students opportunities, in the classroom and beyond, intellectually and in self-reflection, to engage the issue of racism in American history, society, and institutions," said Donald Hafner, vice provost for undergraduate academic affairs. "New courses on these matters will be offered next year by our regular faculty in our African and African diaspora studies program, in the same spirit as 'History and Development of Racism' and reflecting the latest scholarship and thinking on these matters."
During the past summer, Marcus and his undergraduate teaching assistants were informed that the course would be "reviewed." But current TA Tara O'Hanlon, A&S '09, said no one ever came to the class, reviewed the syllabus, or spoke to the instructor or TAs. "The review was nonexistent," she said. "I understand the University's right to review it, but why cancel it, and why cancel it now, so soon before registration?"
Marcus, who is involved in the BC community in other capacities through Community Change, said that he was mostly concerned about how the cancellation came about. "There was no formal evaluation of the class, but most importantly, there was no involvement of the students. BC exists for its students, to educate them, and they should have their say."
Many former students and TAs of the course have integrated some of the course objectives into their lives in several capacities. FACES was founded out of discussions sparked in HDR, and some students even return to TA the course after graduation. "Students inspired by the class have worked for Community Change as interns, and we are also a PULSE placement," Marcus said. "I'm very interested in supporting students - it's my life work."
Indeed, Marcus' course traditionally receives high marks on course evaluations, and there is typically a wait list to get into the class. "I haven't had a single class with that dynamic before," said Sha-Kayla Crockett, former HDR student and A&S '09, who had expected to TA this semester. "This class changes your point of view - you use it in your day-to-day actions. I had a lot of experience with the things we talked about, but I couldn't put those experiences into words or a framework before taking that class."
Several students questioned the University's commitment to exploring issues of racism and privilege in an academic setting. "There are few groups on campus to discuss stereotypes, images, preconceptions, etc.," Crockett said.
"It's really important that the school sends a message that these issues [of racism] exist and facilitates discussion on them," O'Hanlon said. "This class sends a positive message of devotion to that, as there is already a complaint that not enough is done for diversity."
Though there are student organizations dedicated to discussion of issues of race and diversity, the value of HDR as an academic course, O'Hanlon said, is highly significant. "For it to be instituted as a class is the University officially saying, 'We need to talk about these issues.' It sends a message. Unfortunately, canceling it also sends a message."
Hafner said the University will vigorously pursue an academic discussion on topics covered in HDR despite the brief one-semester hiatus. "We are committed to principles of fostering the kind of understanding this topic deserves, having our regular faculty teach it," he said.
Faculty members in the AADS department were unable to pick it up this semester because they had already committed themselves to curricula for the spring. "Inadvertently, as a result of other obligations, the faculty cannot teach it this semester," Hafner said. "It is not an abandonment."
Crockett said, however, that important aspects of the program could be lost if the course were incorporated into the AADS department. "To hand it over to the AADS department says that a white man isn't fit to teach it," she said.
Former TA Dianna Martinho, A&S '09, said that as a white male teaching about structures of race and privilege, Marcus can reach a particular audience of white students who might not otherwise participate in such a course. "It is powerful as a white student to see a white male say, 'Yeah, I benefit from the system, but I don't think it's right.' It's also powerful for a person of color to see a white person working to change the system."
The course has a special history at BC as a forum for academic discussion on race and racism, as the former instructor Seldon, also a white man, was a faculty member in the philosophy department. Though there was no AADS department in 1980 when Seldon began teaching it, it has been cross-listed in AADS - formerly black studies - and philosophy for many years.
"If you look at the course holistically, Paul has the experience necessary to teach it because he devotes his life to these topics," said Tracy Ai-Chi Chang, a former TA and CSOM '09. "His experience teaching and what it gives to the BC community outweighs the fact that he doesn't have an advanced degree."
In terms of academic requirements, O'Hanlon said the course requires four books, four two-page journals, two five-page papers that engage the reading, one book review of five-seven pages on an additional book, and a 12-15-page research paper. There is also a take-home final exam, she said.
"People complain about the workload," Chang said, "but they love it."
Martinho said the students who take the course are genuinely interested in the topic, and this translates into high achievement and high grades across the board. "It's heavy reading and writing," she said, "but those who stay and do the work are interested. They want to be there, they want to do the work, to do well, and they get good grades."
"It's an experience, not just a class," Chang said. "It's important to have an instructor to have heart, emotion, and passion rather than a Ph.D. - what does a Ph.D. understand about race? People who created the construct of race all had Ph.D.s."
O'Hanlon and Crockett said that the class's "unorthodox" nature and real life applicability is what drew students back to it as TAs. "People are invested in it," Crockett said. "I would be overloading to TA it."
Martinho said she questioned why the University would eliminate a class so highly regarded and that many students think should be mandatory. "It's a slap in the face to find out what you value so highly is deemed not worth having," she said.
But Hafner urged students to keep in mind that the University is not shirking from its responsibility to engage issues of race and racism from a rigorous academic perspective. "Our commitment to the AADS department and our commitment to diversity among all our faculty members remain high. The study of these issues is not going away."
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