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Proposed Requirement for the Study of U.S. Cultural Diversity Adopted by the SAS Faculty on April 17, 2007
College students are required to take at least one course that aims to develop their knowledge of the history, dynamic cultural systems, and heterogeneous populations that make up the national culture of the United States. The knowledge they acquire will enhance students’ ability to think critically about past and present challenges facing the United States.
Courses designated as fulfilling the U.S. Cultural Diversity Requirement will cultivate the skills necessary for understanding a rapidly changing society as the population of the U.S. becomes increasingly diverse. Together these courses centrally focus on diversity in a variety of forms, especially race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, and religion. Courses can include the intersection between and among these factors. These courses may use a variety of methods to study these factors, including analysis of social data, historical inquiry, or the study of cultural expressions of and by these populations. To complement the cross-cultural analysis requirement, courses that fulfill this requirement should examine the diversity of cultures and patterns of equality and inequality that shape the United States.
With its multi-faceted past, its distributions of power, its plurality of cultures, and its relations with other nations, the United States invites study from a range of perspectives. Comparative approaches, though not required, may be an especially effective way to study U.S. cultures. The goal is to equip graduates of the College to understand the diverse populations of the U.S. so that they may become perceptive and engaged members of society.
A College committee will generate a list of designated courses that will fulfill the U.S. Cultural Diversity Requirement. The course may be an “overlay” course, one that may simultaneously fulfill another sector or major requirement.
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Comments and questions about web page to: Stephanie
Jones (stephanr@sas.upenn.edu)
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