[Breitbart] Professors Kyle Rudick and Kathryn B. Golsan of the University of Northern Iowa argued in a recent academic article in the Howard Journal of Communications that asking for civility in classroom discussions reinforces "white racial power."In this study, the authors draw upon critical whiteness studies to explore how White students’ understanding of race-talk within higher education (re)produces whiteness. Through an analysis of interview data, they generated 3 categories describing whiteness-informed civility (WIC): (a) WIC functions to create a good White identity, (b) WIC functions to erase racial identity, and (c) WIC functions to assert control of space. These thematic concepts show how WIC is characterized by logics of race-evasion, avoidance of race-talk, and exclusion of people of color. The authors conclude by offering ways for instructors to interrogate WIC through classroom practices informed by critical communication pedagogy.
In the article, Rudick and Goslan interviewed 10 white colleges students to obtain a better grasp on their personal definition of "civil behavior."
"How do you think your racial identity may affect your understandings of civility when talking with students of color?" they asked the student participants.