Undergraduate Catalog

Human Diversity

(4 credits)

Courses fulfilling the human diversity requirement consider ways in which preconceptions, stereotypes, and assumptions held by a particular individual, as well as that individual’s position within structures of privilege, affect understanding of issues related to diversity. In addition, the course addresses ways in which power and privilege operate at the institutional/systemic level. These courses address at least two of the following areas of inquiry: race and ethnicity, gender, religion, class, sexual orientation, disability status, or geopolitical status.

These courses assist students in understanding the perspectives, values, experiences, works and achievements of the peoples and cultures being studied, recognizing that the experiences, beliefs, and values of any group being studied are not monolithic, but may vary widely within the group. Whenever possible, courses include materials (e.g., writings, films, narratives, oral histories, artwork) that are produced by the population or culture under study.

Courses fulfilling the human diversity requirement explicitly address the ways in which the study of diversity is valuable to a liberal arts education and fosters respect for the diversity of peoples and cultures within the fundamental unity of humankind. These courses also address how the discipline involved contributes to an understanding of the groups or culture under study and how the perspectives of the groups or culture might expand understanding of the discipline itself.

Students select one of the following core-area courses:

  • ACST 200 Introduction to American Cultural Studies
  • ARTH 110 Introduction to Art History
  • ARTH 260 Women in Ancient Art
  • ARTH 265 Art of Mesoamerica
  • ARTH 270 Pacific Art
  • ARTH 275 Buddhist Art
  • ARTH 284 Arts of the African Diaspora
  • ARTH 285 Arts of Africa
  • ARTH 291 Topics in Non-Western Art
  • ARTH 321 The Art and Culture of Modern Mexico (1824-1940)
  • ARTH 323 Colonial Art of Latin America
  • ARTH 328 Chinese Sculpture & Architecture
  • ARTH 329 Chinese Painting
  • BLAW 352 Gender Issues and the Law
  • CATH 308 Woman and Man
  • COJO 326 Modern American Rhetoric
  • COJO 328 Communication of Race, Class, and Gender
  • COJO 370 Intercultural Communication
  • ECON 345 Development/Growth 
  • ECON 346 Country & Area Studies
  • EDUC 329 Diverse Learners and Families
  • ENGL 217 Multicultural Literature
  • ENGL 218 Literature by Women: Critical History
  • ENGL 337 The Literature of Human Diversity
  • ENGL 341 Literature by Women: Critical Questions
  • ENGL 390 Major Literary Figures (James Baldwin offering)
  • ENGL 395 Issues in Literature, Language, and Culture (dependent on topic)
  • FILM 300 World Cinema
  • GEOG 111 Human Geography
  • GEOG 113 World Geography
  • HIST 116 African-American History in Global Perspective
  • HIST 117 Latin Am/Global Perspective
  • HIST 118 Middle East and North Africa
  • HIST 119 East Asian Civilizations
  • HIST 210 Modern Latin America, 1800 to the Present
  • HIST 240 Foundations of Chinese Civilization
  • HIST 241 The History of Modern China
  • HIST 366 History of the American Catholic Church
  • HIST 372 Vietnam and the United States
  • IDSC 291 The Anatomy of Violence
  • JPST 250 Introduction to Justice and Peace Studies
  • MUSC 130 Introduction to World Music
  • MUSC 162 The Roots of Blues, Rock and Country Music
  • MUSC 216 Jazz in America
  • MUSC 218 Black American Music:Hist
  • MUSC 233 Music of the World: Aural and Written Traditions
  • PHIL 208 Indian Philosophy
  • PHIL 210 Chinese Philosophy
  • PHIL 215 Ethics of East and West
  • PHIL 308 Indian Philosophy
  • POLS 352 Third World Politics and Government
  • PSYC 151 Cross-Cultural Psychology
  • PSYC 205 Psychology of Women
  • SABD See the Study Abroad Office for approved courses
  • SOCI 100 Introduction to Sociology
  • SOCI 110 Social Problems
  • SOCI 251 Race and Ethnicity
  • SOCI 301 Cultural Anthropology
  • SOCI 315 Gender, Culture & Society
  • SOCI 330 Religion and Society
  • SOCI 353 Global Perspectives on Gender
  • SOWK 291 The Anatomy of Violence
  • SOWK 340 Human Behavior and the Social Environment
  • SPAN 411 Ethnicity and Multiculturalism of the Spanish-speaking World
  • SPAN 412 Chicano and U.S. Latino Culture(s) and Literature(s)
  • SPAN 415 Hispanic Cinema Studies
  • THEO 251 Global Christianity
  • THEO 421 Theologies of Justice and Peace
  • THEO 424 Christianity and World Religions
  • THEO 425 Judaism
  • THEO 426 Islam
  • THEO 428 Women and the Old Testament
  • THEO 429 Women and the Christian Tradition
  • THEO 431 Women in the Early Church
  • THEO 432 Black Religious Experience
  • THEO 455 The Church in Latin America
  • THEO 458 The Bible/ Multicltr Perspect
  • THEO 461 Compartative Theology of Sex, Gender and the Body
  • THEO 466 The Qur’an and the Bible
  • THEO 468 Comp. Theo. of Sex/Gender/Body
  • THTR 223 American Theater (History of Theater III)
  • UMAIE See the Study Abroad Office for approved courses
  • WMST 205 Foundations in Women’s Studies