Race & Ethnicity
The LS&A faculty added the Race & Ethnicity requirement in 1991 after long and thoughtful discussion. The faculty believes that because racial and ethnic intolerance has fundamentally affected the development of contemporary American society and because its effects will continue to be felt well into the future, all students should take at least one course that deals on a fairly sophisticated level with topics such as the historical development of racism, and the social, political, and economic effects of racism and other types of discrimination.
In an article for the Spring, 1991 edition of LS&Amagazine, LS&A Dean Goldenberg wrote that the faculty "agreed that racism is an urgent problem facing the University and society at large and that it is desirable that courses in the College address questions of race and ethnicity and teach students to think analytically and critically about such topics.... The aim [of the requirement] is to provide students with relevant information about an important social issue since the changing world and work-place the student will enter will require being better able to listen to and understand a diversity of voices."
Courses approved to meet the Race & Ethnicity requirement will address issues arising from racial or ethnic intolerance. In approving the requirement, the faculty of the College made the following statements:
Required content. All courses satisfying the requirement must provide discussion, consistent with disciplinary approaches, of:
- the meaning of race, ethnicity, and racism;
- racial and ethnic intolerance and resulting inequality as it occurs in the United States or elsewhere;
- comparisons of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, social class, or gender.
Required focus.
- Every course satisfying the requirement must devote substantial, but not necessarily exclusive, attention to the required content. Courses may meet this requirement by various means consistent with disciplines or fields of study, and faculty members from all departments are urged to think creatively about how their fields might contribute to the requirement.
- Although it is hoped that many of these courses will focus on the United States, it is not required that they do so. Courses that deal with these issues in other societies, or that study them comparatively, may also meet the requirement.
Students who are new to the College of LS&A (that is, first time enrolled as an LS&A student) in the Fall Term of 1991, and thereafter, must (in any term before graduation) receive credit for one of the approved Race and Ethnicity (R&E) courses. Each term's listing will vary as courses are added or deleted by the College of LS&A Curriculum Committee. The College offers many courses taught by a number of different departments each term. Although the list of courses that meet this requirement varies from term to term, all such courses are designed to give students exposure to questions focusing on the meaning of race and racism, racial and ethnic intolerance and resulting inequality, and comparisons with other types of discrimination.
The courses that have been granted blanket approval for meeting the requirement are:
Afroamerican and African Studies
303/Soc. 303. Race and Ethnic Relations. (4; 3 in the half-term).
(SS).
American Culture
212. Introduction to Latino Studies - Social Science. (3). (SS).
213. Introduction to Latino Studies - Humanities. (3). (HU).
214. Introduction to Asian American Studies - Social Science. (3). (SS).
215. Introduction to Asian American Studies - Humanities. (3). (HU).
216. Introduction to Native American Studies - Social Science. (3). (SS).
217. Introduction to Native American Studies - Humanities. (3). (HU).
240/WS 240. Introduction to Women's Studies. (4; 3 in the half-term). (HU).
243/WS 243. Introduction to Study of Latinas in the U.S. (3). (HU).
312/Hist. 377. History of Latinos in the U.S. (3). (Excl).
399. Race, Racism, and Ethnicity. (4; 3 in the half-term). (SS).
Anthropology
Cultural 101. Introduction to Anthropology. (4). (SS).
Cultural 272/Ling. 272. Language in Society. (4). (SS).
History
377/Amer. Cult. 312. History of Latinos in the U.S. (3). (Excl).
Linguistics
272/Anthro. 272. Language in Society. (4). (SS).
Romance Languages and Literatures
French 469. African and Caribbean Literature. (3). (Excl).
Sociology
103. Introduction to Sociology Through Race and Ethnicity. (4; 3
in the half-term). (SS).
303/CAAS 303. Race and Ethnic Relations. (4; 3 in the half-term). (SS).
University Courses
298. Race, Racism, and Ethnicity. (4). (HU).
Women's Studies
240/Amer. Cult. 240. Introduction to Women's Studies. (4; 3 in the
half-term). (HU).
243/Amer. Cult. 243. Introduction to Study of Latinas in the U.S. (3). (HU).
Other courses are approved on a term-by-term basis, and a list appears in the front of each Course Guide. It is most important that you are careful to elect the section of the course taught by the faculty member whose name is listed with the course. Other sections of the course have not been approved to meet this requirement and may not be substituted. Courses meeting the R&E requirement may also help meet either distribution or concentration or composition requirements.
Advanced Placement credit can not be used to meet this requirement.