Classes are starting soon at Arizona State University, and one of those classes has raised controversy just about every year it’s been offered.
That’s “The Problem of Whiteness” a class taught by professor Lee Bebout, an associate professor in ASU’s Department of English. He started the class back in 2015.
When it was first introduced, it was singled out on Fox News commentators who called it “unfair” and “wrong.” It was targeted by white supremacist groups, and the controversy sparked protests and counter protests.
But Bebout says that controversy shows exactly why it needs to be taught.
This semester the class operates under a slightly less controversial name — “Whiteness and U.S. Race Theory.”
But the name doesn't change the content being taught. So, I asked Bebout what’s taught and what makes him bring it back again and again.
