Diversity in the United States

Courses that meet the Diversity in the United States requirement will be designed to ensure that UB graduates are able to demonstrate some measure of “cultural competency” within the diverse communities of the U.S. and particularly New York State. Diversity courses focus on the challenges and possibilities in the diverse society in the United States, in contemporary and recent history.

Having completed the Diversity in the United States Requirement you will be able to:

• Think critically, and with an open mind, about controversial topics stemming from issues such as gender, race, class, ethnicity, religion, and disabilities in American society and the larger world.
  
• Develop an understanding of antiracism and social justice and learn to apply these concepts to specific situations.
  
• Explain how historical and global contexts (such as Western colonial expansion, enslavement, capitalism, gender inequality, immigration, and/or social movements) cause categories of diversity to change over time, and how these contexts have contributed to systems of power, privilege, oppression, and opportunity.
  
• Describe how categories of diversity intersect or connect with each other, creating complex identities and perspectives. Recognize the distinct role of race as a category of diversity in the US and the intersecting effects of race on other categories of diversity.
  

To facilitate the approval process, proposers must make clear how the course meets the established outcomes, in particular:

• Utilize the Diversity in the United States syllabus template, include the learning outcomes on the syllabus, and identify the ways in which students will meet each learning outcome. 
• Ensure the syllabus clearly demonstrates the connections to learning outcomes, for instance through the inclusion of detailed reading topics, lecture topics, sample assignments and activities, etc.
• Provide a separate memo discussing these connections between course material and the learning outcomes (no more than 2 pages)
• Focus the course (readings/assignments/lecture topics) within the U.S. context.

The course focuses on contemporary society and culture in the United States: on ethnic and racial diversity, gender, sexuality, cultural and linguistic differences, and economic disparities and inequalities Courses fulfilling this requirement will guide students to discuss diversity categories in relation to power, justice, and equity and will further develop critical thinking skills. Courses must focus on the sociocultural aspects of diversity – hence the exclusion of courses on biodiversity.

Examples of topics and courses satisfying the Diversity in the United States requirement include:

• Exploring histories, cultures and experiences of people from diverse backgrounds in the US.
• Learning how race, class, gender and other categories of difference are socially-constructed, flexible, intersecting, and overlapping; how identities and their representations change over time; and how they [identities] are shaped by power and privilege.
• Analyzing and critiquing public policies that affect various groups of people in different ways, and developing conceptual tools for analyzing bias, prejudice, and discrimination.

Diversity is now satisfied in the Pathways.