At the University of Alabama (UA), students can now earn honors credit studying the "racial politics of Black hair."
The course, "Deeply Rooted: Detangling Racial Politics of Black Hair in America," asks students to examine hairstyles like braids and locs through the lens of "social construction" and power dynamics, framing hair as a site of resistance, conformity, and identity.
The class is not merely an elective; it counts toward an honors credit, a distinction typically associated with more rigorous academic work and often viewed favorably by potential employers. It also spans a full semester, meaning students can spend months studying what the course describes as the "Politics of Black Hair."
It is one of a growing number of courses at universities across Alabama that use education to push a narrow worldview through frameworks centered on race, gender and identity.
At UA alone, students can also take classes like "Race and Queer Desire," "Gender and Black Masculinity" and "Freedom Beyond Rights," each focused on examining society through lenses of power, oppression and identity politics.
The language is consistent throughout.
Courses emphasize concepts such as "social construction," "systems of power" and how individuals are shaped by race, gender and sexuality, far beyond what their environment might be responsible for.
The trend extends beyond Tuscaloosa, into other University of Alabama System schools, too.
At the University of Alabama at Birmingham, students can enroll in "Intersecting Realities: Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality," a course that examines what it describes as "intersecting modes of domination" across society.
Students at UAB can also take "The Sociology of Hip Hop."
Other classes at UAB focus on how inequality is "created, reproduced, and resisted" through identity categories such as race and gender.
Across multiple campuses, students are still encouraged to view society primarily through the lens of identity.
In terms of degree and credit requirements, most of these courses are equivalent to high-level math or engineering classes, which raises concerns about the true value of a degree from these universities.
Trenton Buffenbarger is a senior at the University of Alabama and is the Chairman of the UA Young Americans for Freedom.
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