Whether Black and White women can maintain friendships is a topic of discussion in a Yale University class.

This semester, Yale University is providing a course that examines the relationships between Black and White women, as stated in their course catalog.

The course, titled "No Time for Tears: Friendships between Black Women and White Women," will explore the possibility of establishing equal footing in relationships between Black women and White women.

"Can these relationships be free from quid pro quo transactions? Can they be established on emotional labor, trust, and love? Are such relationships even possible? The course description raises these questions. "Let's examine the obstacles that make these relationships challenging. We aim to confront with unflinching honesty the risks that underpin Black women's relationships with White women.""

Professor Tasha Hawthorne, the Dean of Yale's Pierson College, specializes in the intersection of gender, sexuality, genre, race, and politics in Black fiction. As a graduate student at Cornell University, she taught classes on "Race, Power, and Privilege" and "The Sociology of the African American Experience."

Students can earn a 'B+' grade in the class by meeting the requirements, regardless of their individual assignment grades, as reported in the College Fix. The course utilizes "contract grading," which typically makes it easier for students to achieve good grades if they put in effort.

The syllabus describes the traditional grading style as promoting bias related to being White Anglo Saxon Protestant, speaking and writing standard English, growing up in a first language English-speaking community, having parents with collegiate education, attending high schools with AP or IB classes, etc. However, the syllabus also states that an actively anti-racist approach to assessment is seen as a way of participating in educational justice and equity.

The College Fix reported that the course includes several readings about the use of the term "Karen," including a TIME report titled "How the 'Karen Meme' Confronts the Violent History of White Womanhood," a Vox article titled "How 'Karen' became a symbol of racism," and a journal article titled "Querying Karen: The Rise of the Angry White Woman."

Planet Chronicle Digital reached out to Professor Hawthorne and Yale University for comment.