The controversial classroom: Institutional resources and pedagogical strategies for a race relations course

The problems encountered in teaching race relations courses have been the c entral focus of recent discussions about pedagogical approaches to controve rsial topics. These discussions, while invaluable, fail to fully explore tw o issues.. first, the need for collective as well as individual strategies to deal with the problems generated by race relations courses; and second, the unique experiences of graduate students of color teaching this class at predominantly white universities. This paper offers a model for a collecti ve strategy that departments can use to more effectively deal with problems associated with such courses. This model is provided by a year-long worksh op organized by our department to analyze and address challenges posed by r ace relations classes. Our workshop was racially and ethnically diverse, al lowing us a unique opportunity to deliberately explore the experiences of t eachers of color. Drawing from this diversity, we develop a multidimensiona l analysis of the institutional and pedagogical constraints that create pro blems for race relations instructors, and we sketch a multidimensional appr oach to minimizing these problems.