Smith College continues to offer course on 'White Supremacy in the Age of Trump'
In 2020, Campus Reform reported that Smith College professor Loretta Ross would be teaching a course titled 'White Supremacy in the Age of Trump.'
Now, three years later, the course continues to be taught.
In 2020, Campus Reform reported that Smith College professor Loretta Ross would be teaching a course titled “White Supremacy in the Age of Trump.” Now, three years later, the course continues to be taught at the Massachusetts school.
In an article titled “College offers ‘White Supremacy in the Age of Trump’ course,” former Campus Reform correspondent Lela Gallery highlighted the core questions the class is intended to address as detailed in the course description, including “how does one appropriately respond to [white supremacist] ideology and political power in the Age of Trump?”
Today, the course is still on the roster under the Study of Women and Gender department despite Donald Trump no longer holding the office of President of the United States. The course has typically been offered during both Spring and Fall semesters at Smith College.
The course requires students to “explore how to build a human rights movement to counter the white supremacist movement in the U.S.”
“This class is an entry-level overview of the white supremacist movement in the U.S.,” the course syllabus from 2020 reads. “Further study is necessary to develop more expertise. The overall goal is to develop the capacity to understand the range of possible responses to white supremacy, both its legal and extralegal forms.”
Students are required to complete four reflection papers, one of which asks the question “[how] did the ideology of white supremacy help elect Donald Trump, and what did the 2016 election teach us?”
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Since the course’s introduction, Ross has not shied away from media attention.
In an interview this year with Dissent Magazine, Ross took the opportunity to express her pro-abortion views and ire for Republicans.
She stated that “[The US] got to the end of Roe v. Wade because of Republicans. Since the 1970s, they have been committed to building a base, putting together people who are opposed to immigration, people who are opposed to integration, people who are opposed to women’s rights and feminism, and people who are opposed to gay rights.”
“They called that group ‘the moral majority,’” she said, “but there is nothing moral, or majoritarian, about them.”
In the upcoming Fall semester, Smith is also offering courses such as “Video Games and the Politics of Play” and “Queer Ecologies: Race, Queerness, Disability and Environmental Justice.”
Campus Reform has reached out to all individuals and entities mentioned for comment and will update accordingly.
