Understanding Racism as Systemic
The Process of Learning
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21394475 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cyndi Kernahan (University of Wisconsin–River Falls), Erik T Withers (0000-0001-5900-1903, University of Wisconsin–River Falls) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 96 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2026-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociological Inquiry (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0038-0245 • E-ISSN: 1475-682X |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/soin.70058 |
| OpenAlex | W7165117653 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 34 |
Helping people learn about racism as systemic rather than as solely or even primarily as an individual and interpersonal phenomenon is important. In this study, we examined how two different courses may have affected the racial attitudes and understandings of our students. We found that students in both an introductory and an upper‐level course showed significant increases in the understanding of racism as systemic, using both quantitative and qualitative measures. Further, those in the upper‐level course experienced the largest change in understanding. In documenting these shifts, we found that emotion played an important and surprising role. We discuss our findings in the context of both the prior literature and the current political climate. Finally, we offer suggestions for next steps as well as for teaching
Context (archaeology) · Interpersonal communication · Phenomenon · Politics · Process (computing) · Racism · Critical Race Theory in Education · Innovative Teaching Methodologies in Social Sciences · Social and Intergroup Psychology
Americans misperceive racial economic equality
Systemic racism
The Misperception of Racial Economic Inequality
Do diversity courses improve college student outcomes? A meta-analysis
College diversity courses and cognitive development among students from privileged and marginalized groups
Constructions of Race Among Religiously Conservative College Students
Understanding what students bring to the classroom
The Sociological Imagination within Teaching Sociology
Teaching the Abstract
The Value of Dialogue Groups for Teaching Race and Ethnicity
Using Racial and Class Differences in Infant Mortality to Teach about White Privilege
Seeing Race
Working with passion
The Whiteness pandemic behind the racism pandemic
Education and Understanding Structural Causes for Group Inequalities
Telling Our Stories
Construction and initial validation of the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS)
Feeling Race
What Makes Systemic RacismSystemic
Examining Emotion as Discourse
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |