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DIVERSITY PROGRAM of GENERAL EDUCATION
(DRAFT, November 30, 2000)
Mission
The Diversity Curriculum ensures that, within their general education experience, students address
historically excluded groups and issues that significantly impact and help define society.
Goals
1.
Students will appreciate behaviors, policies, and attitudes that treat all people equitably.
2.
Students will recognize that contributions to a culture by individuals and groups within that
culture significantly influence the culture of the larger global society.
3.
Students will examine beliefs, belief systems, and ideologies that may be different from their own.
4.
Students will recognize that the choices and behaviors of individuals establish and/or define the
culture.
5.
Students will identify unjust, de-humanizing, and oppressive policies and practices of individuals,
authorities, and social institutions within the dominant culture and their impact on the treatment of
various disenfranchised groups.
Criteria
I.
Any course with Diversity status must satisfy the criteria for General Education courses as these are set
forth in the General Education Program.
II. The course must further the mission and goals of the Diversity curriculum.
III. The course must promote respect for human dignity and differences by methods that employ and
strengthen the cognitive, affective, and critical powers of students by impartial and critical examination
of facts, beliefs interpretations of facts, and arguments.
IV. The entire course must be devoted to Diversity subject matter.
V. A Diversity course must fit into one or more of the following categories:
A. Global Diversity:
A Global Diversity course is one whose subject matter is set in one or more of the following
regions of the world: Asia, Africa, Oceania, or Latin America (where Latin America refers to the
western hemisphere exclusive of the United States and Canada). Global Diversity courses will
deal with one or more facets of the culture or cultures in question.
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Students will examine one or more facets of a non-Western culture.
Students will demonstrate understanding and respect for non-Western cultures.
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B. Gender and Sexual Orientation:
A course falling under this heading will concern contributions and issues arising from gender and
sexual orientation differences in our society as well as in the larger human community.
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Students will examine and understand issues arising from gender and sexual orientation in
society.
Students will demonstrate respect for gender diversity.
Students will demonstrate respect for the continuum of sexual orientations.
C. Race and Minorities:
All courses in this category must concern themselves with the human and cultural value of an
oppressed group and/or the experience of unequal treatment and/or abuse suffered by the group.
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Students will examine and understand the meanings of race, ethnicity, and oppression.
Students will describe the heritage, culture, and contributions of racial minorities.
Students will determine the patterns of racial oppression and identify racial domination.
Students will explore experiences of racial minorities and tell how members of racial
minorities maintain a sense of identity in the presence of persistent and systematic racial
oppression and hate crimes.
Students will examine and discuss their own understanding and awareness of race and
ethnicity in the United States.
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Racial Issues Curriculum
Mission:
The mission of the racial issues curriculum is to ensure that within the general education curriculum
students address issues of race, racial and ethnic oppression, and hate crimes in the present-day United
States. While historical and global perspectives on race and racial oppression may be incorporated, a
major focus must be on their impact within the United States today.
Goals:
The goals of the Racial Issues Curriculum are to
(a) build an understanding of the meaning of race and racial oppression in the United States,
(b) educate people about the heritage and contributions of racial minorities to society and civilization,
(c) increase awareness of systematic racial oppression and crimes of hate, and
(d) aid in personal growth by providing an opportunity for self-reflection and self-expression on
issues of race and racial oppression.
These goals are to be addressed by courses within the general education curriculum. Racial Issues
courses must meet the criteria of General Education and Diversity curricula, and the specific criteria
described below.
Criteria:
Any course that is approved as part of the racial issues curriculum must be wholly devoted to issues of
race and racism and address four fundamental areas; understanding, education, awareness, and student
growth. These areas are defined below. No percentages are specified for each area, but all must be
addressed.
1. Understanding: A course must examine the concept and meaning of race, ethnicity and oppression.
2. Education: A course must explore the heritage, culture, and contributions of racial minorities; the
impact of racial classification; and the patterns of racial oppression, racial domination and hate
crimes in the United States.
3. Awareness: A course must explore experiences of racial minorities and how members of racial
minorities maintain a sense of identity despite persistent and systematic racial oppression and hate
crimes.
4. Student Growth: A course must provide a significant arena for dialogue and/or self-reflection on
understanding, education, and awareness.
Assessment:
These courses will be assessed as part of the five-year general education assessment cycle. A specific
assessment instrument will be developed to determine that the individual courses continue to meet the
racial issues criteria. The General Education Committee will review the courses as a group to assess
the impact of the curriculum and its progress toward attaining the goals of the Racial Issues
Curriculum.
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