Click here to go back to top of page.
Departments will propose courses to fulfill the requirement for approval by CUSA and Assembly. No limit on the number of courses a department may offer to fulfill the U.S. Diversity requirement will be imposed. Courses satisfying the requirement may be offered at either the freshman-sophomore or junior-senior level. In reviewing courses that are proposed by departments as U.S. Diversity Courses, CUSA will proceed in much the same way that it does in reviewing courses for the various distribution (i.e., "Principal course") requirements and the Non-Western Culture requirement.
The purposes of the U.S. Diversity requirement demand a broad definition
of diversity. Courses that deal with specific U.S. populations and
cultures--e.g., racial, ethnic, sexual, religious, age, disabled, class--represent
one form of the requirement; courses that focus on specific social
movements and political forces with regard to issues of minoritization,
marginalization, mainstreaming, balkanization, citizenship, rights, responsibilities,
and the multiplicity of cultural experience in the U.S. will also be considered
appropriate. Central to all courses fulfilling the requirement will
be consideration of the relationship (and struggle) between diversity (or
pluralism) and democracy. It is assumed, as a result, that courses
fulfilling the requirement will address issues of inequality, power, and
justice.
Justification
Currently CLAS students are required to take two courses on Western Civilization and one course on non-Western culture. While these requirements are fundamental to a solid liberal arts education, it is equally important that all students become acquainted with the diverse cultures of this country. In particular, students need to be made explicitly aware of diasporic and minority cultures (including, but not limited to race and ethnicity) central to the problems of pluralism and struggles for equality in a democratic United States.
Over a decade ago, CLAS faculty recognized that the shrinking nature
of the world demanded that KU students be made familiar with geographically
faraway cultures. Today, we realize that expanding notions of cultural
identity demand that KU students be made aware of differences that define
their own place. Ten to fifteen years ago we tried to ensure that
our students would not be terribly myopic: we attempted to correct
for nearsightedness by requiring study of remote cultures. Today
we realize that we must also try
to insure against hyperopia: we will attempt to correct for farsightedness
by requiring study of nearby cultures (really, their own). This is
a realization shared by colleagues across the nation.
American colleges and universities have, with increasing frequency,
been adopting a diversity requirement into their curricula. According to
Debra Humphreys, editor of Diversity Digest, upwards of three-quarters
of U.S. institutions of higher learning either have adopted a diversity
requirement or are in the process of doing so (this and other useful information
on diversity requirements in higher education can be found at the Digest's
website, http://www.inform.umd.edu/diversityweb; another good source of
information on diversity and education is the Ford Foundation's website,
http://www.fordfound.org). A 1996 publication by the
National Association of Scholars reports that half of the top 100 ranked
colleges and universities (as listed by U.S. News and World Report) have
a diversity requirement, and the vast majority of these offer a menu of
courses available to fulfill the requirement (on average, a list of 44
courses that may fulfill the requirement).
The American public is also increasingly concerned about issues of pluralism,
and is broadly supportive of campus efforts to require the study of U.S.
diversity.
Two in three Americans say it is very important that colleges and universities
prepare people to function in a diverse society. Fifty-five percent
say that every college student should have to study different cultures
in order to graduate. By a margin of more than three to one, those
who have an opinion say that diversity programs in colleges and universities
raise rather than lower academic standards. Nearly three in five
(58 percent) say our nation is growing apart, and 71 percent say that diversity
education on college and university campuses helps bring society together
(News from the Ford Foundation, October 1998).
Common Questions Addressed
- MIGHT CLASSES THAT CURRENTLY FULFILL PRINCIPAL COURSE
REQUIREMENTS ALSO COUNT TOWARD FULFILLING THE DIVERSITY
REQUIREMENT?
Yes, it is likely that a number of courses that currently fulfill
humanities and social science requirements will also appear on the approved
list of courses to fulfill the diversity requirement. Theses courses
may be counted to fulfill both a principal course and the diversity requirement.
- WHEN WILL THE NEW REQUIREMENT TAKE EFFECT, AND WILL IT APPLY TO
STUDENTS CURRENTLY ENROLLED?
The requirement will begin with the entering freshman class of fall
2000. It will not apply to any student enrolled at the university
prior to that time.
- WHY NOT FULFILL THE REQUIREMENT WITH A SINGLE COURSE, OR
INCORPORATE ISSUES OF DIVERSITY INTO THE EXISTING WESTERN
CIVILIZATION REQUIREMENT?
Research on the experience of instituting a diversity requirement at
other institutions suggests that a menu approach, such as is proposed,
is preferable to other alternatives for a number of reasons (and a menu
approach is far and away the most popular approach at other institutions).
First, we already have on the books a number of courses that fit the spirit
of the requirement. Mounting a new course to serve all students in
the college would constitute an expensive duplication of resources. Second,
it is important that students be allowed a range of alternatives for studying
diversity in contexts and areas of particular interest to them. It
is also important that the college encourage units across the curriculum
to offer a course or courses
consistent with the dictates of the requirement. Third, the current
two-semester Western Civilization requirement is already full of material.
By all accounts, the Western Civilization program is a great success; tampering
with its content seems unwise. Fourth, the success of the Non-Western
Culture requirement at KU can serve as a good model for the diversity requirement.
- WILL PARTICULAR SECTIONS OF REGULARLY OFFERED COURSES BE ALLOWED TO
FULFILL THE REQUIREMENT, OR MIGHT A SPECIFIC INSTANTIATION OF A
SPECIAL TOPICS COURSE BE APPROVED FOR THE REQUIREMENT?
Yes. Just as some special topics courses have received approval from CUSA for fulfilling the Non-Western Culture requirement, so too might some special topics or particular course sections meet the dictates of the diversity requirement.
- WHY INVOKE THIS REQUIREMENT FOR B.A. AND B.G.S. STUDENTS, BUT NOT
FOR B.S. STUDENTS IN THE COLLEGE?
The college currently invokes neither principal nor the Non-Western
Culture requirements on B.S. students. Rather, particular programs
offering the B.S. degree are left to set their own general education requirements.
The college might encourage departments offering the B.S. degree to consider
incorporating the diversity requirement into their programs, but the high
number of required classes in the major and supporting areas for this degree
has made the college reluctant to dictate any blanket set of requirements
for the B.S.
- WILL ADDING THE NEW REQUIREMENT INCREASE THE 124 HOUR REQUIREMENT
FOR GRADUATION, AND IF NOT, WILL THE NEW REQUIREMENT FURTHER
RESTRICT THE CHOICES OF STUDENTS WHO ALREADY HAVE PROGRAMS OF STUDY
OVERBURDENED BY REQUIREMENTS?
The new requirement will not increase the 124 hour requirement for graduation.
And although it will add a requirement for the B.A. and B.G.S. degree,
it is unlikely that many students will feel a structural difference in
their programs. Because the diversity requirement will also be allowed
to count toward principal and major course requirements, most students
will take no more, in number, required courses than they currently do.
Many students are undoubtedly already taking courses that would fulfill
the dictates
of the diversity requirement; others will be able to choose courses
that will fulfill both the diversity requirement and a principal course
requirement or a requirement for their major.
- IF MANY STUDENTS ARE ALREADY STUDYING DIVERSITY IN CLASSES AT KU,
WHAT IS THE POINT IN REQUIRING SUCH STUDY?
First, although many students may now be taking courses that would likely
fulfill the diversity requirement, it is important for the college to ensure
that all students do so. Second, making this a requirement for the
B.A. and B.G.S. degrees will serve to highlight the importance that the
college places on the study of diversity. Third, instituting the
requirement might serve to encourage faculty across the college to consider
ways in which issues of diversity could be incorporated into their own
classrooms.
- WILL THE DIVERSITY REQUIREMENT CONTRIBUTE TO THE "BALKANIZATION"
OF AMERICAN CULTURE? WILL THESE COURSES ARGUE AGAINST THE THEORY
OF THE "MELTING POT?"
On the contrary, courses that fulfill the diversity requirement should
address the complexity of issues of identity in a pluralistic culture.
Courses that study the integration of minority into majority cultures in
the U.S. would, for example, be appropriate courses to fulfill this requirement.
The intention of the requirement is not to teach students so much about
"others," but to teach them about their own, American selves. As
a recent Ford Foundation Report put it, "The easier challenge is learning
about others, their experiences and their perspectives, their blind spots
and their prejudices. The more difficult task is learning about oneself,
understanding and appreciating one's own multiple cultures, all related
to characteristics that one shares with
others, like sex, race, ethnicity, national identity, sexual orientation,
religion, class, age, and even geographical region" (Spring, 1997).
Our students are already required to learn about Western and Non-Western
Cultures; the U.S. diversity requirement would demand that they also learn
something about American cultures.
IS THE PROPOSED REQUIREMENT AN ATTEMPT TO FORCE ACCEPTANCE OF A
CERTAIN IDEOLOGY?
In a sense, the answer to this question must be "yes." It is assumed
that the ideology of tolerance that Jefferson championed and that is now
widely accepted as central to the life of a society such as ours will be
a focus of all classes that fulfill the diversity requirement. To
the extent the diversity requirement will foster critical thinking about
the associations between pluralism and justice, tolerance and democracy,
difference and equality, then an ideology will, in a sense, be forwarded
in these classes. But this is neither more nor less than the ideology
represented in the mission statement of the University of Kansas that appears
in the undergraduate catalog: "The university fosters a multicultural
environment in which the dignity and rights of the individual are respected"
(p. 9). It is not an ideology associated with a particular politics,
but rather a complex of ideas associated with a democratic form of life.
The U.S. diversity requirement is meant to ensure that students study and
understand an ideology that could be called "American." As is true
of all courses at the university, it is assumed that students will be forced
to accept nothing in these classes, but rather encouraged,through diverse
and disciplined inquiry, to become informed and analytic members of an
educated citizenry.
Questions or comments should be mailed to CUSA via
Gregory J. Shepherd
Associate Professor
Communication Studies
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66047
(785) 864-9879
shepherd@falcon.cc.ukans.edu
We are proposing that the general education requirements for BA and BGS students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences include a course that emphasizes the diverse cultures of the United States. Currently these students are required to take two semester-long courses on Western Civilization and one course on Non-Western Culture. While these requirements are fundamental to a solid liberal arts education, it is equally important that all students become acquainted with the diversity within this country. A U.S. diversity requirement need not add additional credit hour requirements to an undergraduate's course of study but should be easily fulfilled by courses that satisfy other distribution requirements, such as, for example, principal course requirements and requirements for the major.
In itself the Non-Western Culture requirement provides an important opportunity for students to expand their knowledge of world cultures and history. However, its exclusive focus on non-western cultures and indigenous communities of the Americas necessarily excludes study of those diasporic and minority cultures which have been and still are shaped, in part, by their relationship to the majority culture. Like indigenous cultures, diasporic and minority cultures are central to the issue of cultural diversity and struggles for justice within the United States.
Students require both global knowledge and domestic knowledge. Education for participation in United States cultural and democratic pluralism is preparation for citizenship and leadership. At the same time, education in American pluralism should be understood as part and parcel of global knowledge and intelligence.
REQUIRED CONTENT:
All courses satisfying the diversity requirement must provide discussion and analysis, consistent with disciplinary approaches, of:
1) the meanings of race, ethnicity, and gender;
2) inequality as it occurs within the United States;
3) relationships among categories of identity, such as race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, class, ability, or age.
REQUIRED FOCUS:
Every course satisfying the diversity requirement must devote at least 60% of its attention to the required content. Courses may meet this requirement in a variety of ways; faculty members are urged to think creatively about how their departments might contribute to this requirement.
CERTIFICATION OF COURSES:
To certify courses
in fulfillment of the U.S. Diversity Requirement, individual units will
work with their faculties to identify appropriate courses and petition
for approval to CUSA.
Click here to go back to top of page.
We have come to this proposal
after more than a year of research and with the input of faculty, students,
and administrators across the University. Evidence of student and faculty
support for a U.S. diversity requirement has been expressed in such forums
as the Premier Learning Task Force, the formal town meeting called by the
Ad Hoc Committee, and the student rallies in support of diversity. Especially
given the positive response to this proposal as well as the press coverage
diversity issues have received, we hope that CUSA will act on this proposal
before the end of the 1998 spring semester so that it can be presented
to the College Assembly early in the fall of 1998. A timely response
to this proposal would send a clear message that the University community
is willing to take action on issues of public concern.
After serious consideration
of the Degree Requirement Committee's suggestions, we believe that pursuing
the inclusion of the BS students in the requirement is not feasible at
this time.
The other concerns raised
by the Degree Requirement Committee are addressed below:
Questions about this site? e-mail kconrad@eagle.cc.ukans.edu.