In a multicultural society, discussion about group conflict, commonalities, and differences can facilitate understanding and interaction between social groups. In this course, students will participate in structured meetings of at least two different social identity groups, discuss readings, and explore each group's experiences in social and institutional contexts. Students will examine psychological, historical, and sociological materials which address each group's experiences, and learn about issues facing the groups in contemporary society. The goal is to create a setting in which students will engage in open and constructive dialogue, learning, and exploration. The second goal is to actively identify alternative resolutions of intergroup conflicts. Different term-long sections of this course focus on different identity groups (for example, recent dialogues have considered white people/people of color; Blacks/Jews; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and heterosexuals; white women/women of color; Blacks/Latinos/as; men/women; etc.). Once registered, please go to http://www.igr.umich.edu/ to fill out a dialogue placement form.
Required text: Diversity and Social Justice edited by Adams, Blumenfeld, Castaneda, Hackman, Peters, and Zuñiga. Two course packs are required for this course.