PART 1 AUTHORITY AND (IL)LEGITIMACY: DECENTERING WHITENESS: RESISTING RACISM IN THE WOMEN'S STUDIES CLASSROOM.

An essay is presented on the author's classroom experiences in which white students and students of color talk past one another and use conflicting racial discourses. She asserts that white students fear discussion about race and racism in the classroom due to fear of the destabilization of white supremacy and white privilege. She mentions that white students have a tendency to use digression when issues of race and white privilege are introduced in discussions. She stresses that teaching such subject is uncomfortable.