Have you taken a course that you think may apply to the minor? For a course to qualify as a category course, it must link to one of the four learning goals and be consistent with a minor category description.

To see if this course applies, 1) review the course materials and category descriptions below, and 2) email the academic advisor with a paragraph that explains how the course meets a learning goal and aligns with a particular category. It's also helpful to attach a course syllabus to the email, if available.

The Diversity Minor learning goals and category descriptions are as follows:

Learning Goals
The Diversity Minor is intended to acquaint students with a broad and introductory understanding of human diversity, domestic and abroad.  Upon completion of the minor students should have foundational knowledge of socially constructed identities such as race, class, gender, sexuality, disability, age, ethnicity, and nationality.  The central learning goals for the minor are:

            (1) To provide an in-depth analysis of at least one socially constructed identity

            (2) To teach about the intersections of socially constructed categories, perspectives and experiences

            (3) To investigate the phenomena of transnationalism and globalism as they are related to identities and issues of power

            (4) To teach students to think critically about power, inequality, marginality and activism.

Foundations Courses
The structure of the minor consists of Foundations and Category courses.  For a course to qualify as a Foundations course, it must cover all four of the learning goals above with depth and consistency.

Category Courses
For a course to qualify as a category course it must feature at least one of the four learning goals above and be consistent with a minor category description.  The Diversity Minor categories and their descriptions are as follows:

Arts/Cultural Category
These courses explore the customs, traditions, and cultural expressions (art, dance, music, literature, etc.) as they relate to experiences of power, privilege, oppression and resistance/activism.*

Global Category
These courses analyze global dimensions of difference: comparative systems of race, gender, etc; international monetary and social policy; colonialism and neocolonialism; immigration patterns and policy, environmentalism and others.

Historical Category
These courses explore the historical precursors of contemporary power relationships and the interconnected histories of various people as they relate to power, privilege and oppression.

Contemporary/Institutional Category
These courses investigate contemporary society and how institutions like education, law, government, religion, science, health, military, and others contribute to the inequitable distribution of power and privilege in society.

Applications Category
In these learning opportunities, students utilize skills and understandings from previous coursework in applied situations such as Inter-group Dialogue courses, internships, research and community service projects that merit academic credit and are related to the learning goals of the minor.

Encouraged
In addition to the course requirements outlined above, courses within the Diversity Minor are encouraged to:

  • Use a variety of pedagogical methods
  • Utilize extra and co-curricular activities
  • Illustrate theoretical concepts with familiar examples
  • Integrate academic and practical knowledge

Inadmissible
In accordance with the requirements outlined above, the following courses do not meet the Minor criterion and will not be accepted within the minor.

  • A language course that focuses on language acquisition
  • A course with a single unit or reading related to these topics

*Efforts to create and maintain non-dominant and marginalized cultures are a form of resistance/activism: i.e. hip-hop, immigrant communities, sexual minority cultures, etc.