Mandatory ASU course teaches journalism students that asking ‘Where are you from?’ is racist

A mandatory journalism course at Arizona State University has come under fire for its curriculum, which includes teaching students that asking questions such as “where are you from” are racial microaggressions.

The journalism prerequisite course, “Diversity and Civility at Cronkite,” taught within the Cronkite School of Journalism, places a strong emphasis on the “importance of diversity, inclusion, equity and civility,” its online description reads.

The course includes a section focused on microaggressions, and students are asked to review a list of “typical microaggressions.” On that list, questions such as “Where are you from?” and “Where were you born?” are listed as “racial microaggressions.”

Timothy Minella, senior constitutionalism fellow at the Goldwater Institute, said the “course goes through a number of very questionable concepts, and prominent among them, for example, are defining certain microaggressions.”

“What’s concerning,” he told The College Fix in an interview, “is that what they are defining as microaggressions include statements such as ‘I think the most qualified person should get the job.’”

The Goldwater Institute in mid-March published a report detailing the course’s lesson plans and curriculum based on public records requests and published course syllabi.

In a statement to The Fix, ASU said Goldwater’s critique does not take into account the intentions behind the course, which is beneficial to students because it teaches aspiring journalists about the social and cultural nuances and complexities in American society.

The Diversity and Civility course is “intended to bring thoughtful, open-minded discourse to issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, income, geography and other aspects of personal identities,” an ASU spokesperson told The College Fix. “The goal of the course is to help students appreciate people’s differences and to channel disagreements toward civil discussion.”

In fall 2023, more than 400 students took the required course, taught by four professors and faculty associates, the institute reported.