Wisconsin public university set to offer class on 'The Problem of Whiteness

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is set to offer a course this spring called "The Problem of Whiteness," according to The College Fix.

The course aims to help students "understand how whiteness is socially constructed and experienced in order to help dismantle white supremacy," according to the course guide, which also says that "since white supremacy was created by white people, is it not white folks who have the greatest responsibility to eradicate it?"

In addition, the class will investigate how white people "consciously and unconsciously perpetuate institutional racism and how this not only devastates communities of color but also perpetuates the oppression of most white folks along the lines of class and gender."

"In this class, we will ask what an ethical white identity entails, what it means to be #woke, and consider the journal Race Traitor’s motto, 'treason to whiteness is loyalty to humanity,'" the guide adds.

The class will be taught by Damon Sajnani, an associate professor of African-American studies at UW-Madison. In comments to the College Fix, he said that being white is a "problem" that his class seeks to solve.

"The idea of talking about the problem of whiteness is to turn the question back to where it belongs," he said. "The problem of racism is the problem of whites being racist towards blacks."

More from the Fix:

Sajnani told The Fix the premise of the course is to understand that race is neither biological nor cultural, but rather a social and political construct. He purports that blacks, throughout their life, constantly question what it is to be black, however “blacks did not invent racism or racial oppression.”

Naming the problem of whiteness is a play on what used to be known as the “Negro Problem” in the 20th Century, he points out.

During the course, students will be required to write two essays. The first being a reflection of themselves, their race and identity and the role it plays in the modern world. The other will be an essay on several required readings in the class.

Sajnani is a self-described "far-left professor who said he views both Democrats and Republicans as right-wing entities," according to the Fix. His current Facebook profile picture is an homage to deceased Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

According to the Daily Caller, the University of Colorado-Denver is set to offer a similar class this spring, titled "Problematizing Whiteness: Educating for Racial Justice."