What about the white women?: Racial politics in a women's studies classroom

This paper is an analysis of racial politics in a women's studies course. A s instructors of a course entitled "Women of Color," we experienced much re sistance from students about the de-centering of whiteness in the curriculu m. In this article, we use Frankenberg's (1993) concepts of whiteness, powe r evasiveness, and race consciousness to theorize the origins of and soluti ons to this resistance. Further, we describe how ideologies of colorblindne ss frame the discourse on race for most students, and how this limits Their ability to move from a racial discourse of "diversity" to one of "differen ce." We also offer suggestions about addressing this type of student resist ance in the future.