TRANSFORMED COURSES WITHIN THE DISCIPLINES
Humanities
Enrolling in Hip-Hop 101
Institutions have increasingly turned to hip-hop to educate students as more than 85 hip-hop courses were taught in American universities during the 2005-2006 academic year. The influence of hip-hop is evident in current popular culture and students are being taught about the origins of hip-hop, the history of the culture, and relevance to today’s music and its impact on society. The study of hip-hop is seen as a bridge to reach students.
Keeping Black Poetry Alive
It has become challenging for students to take graduate level courses in poetry as none of the top-tier historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) offer a graduate-level poetry program. The author looks at how creative writing professors are helping students appreciate the craft of poetry writing, regardless of their race, by using creative teaching techniques.
Paris Noir: Literature, Art and Contemporary Life in Diaspora, Syracuse University
Paris Noir engages students in the strong influence Black cultures have had on Paris, and allows them to explore the seminar theme from a variety of disciplinary stances. Emphasis is placed on an exchange of ideas with artists, writers, scholars, journalists, community activists, and people from the world of politics, fashion, and music. Like a jazz composition, the seminar is arranged to convey variations and diverse interpretations of the Paris Noir theme. As students delve into the exciting Paris city scene, of museums, historic walking tours, poetry readings, and nightclubs, they come to understand that the term "Paris Noir" generates a variety of different meanings.
Slave Narrative & Novel, Oberlin College, English Department
The subject matter of this course is slave narratives and fictional representations of slavery, in 18th century Brittan and the Antebellum (i.e. pre Civil War) United States. The course examines the cultural work these texts perform, that is their impact on the poetics' of slavery and abolition, and also their key role in constructing a new discourse of racial differences. The primary goal of the course is to have students gain as much insight as possible into texts and into the cultural history of slavery and race.
Latina/o Literature and the Literature of the Americas, University of Northern Colorado
This course examines texts that depict various issues concerning Latina/os in the United States. On the one hand, the course addresses Latina/os and various types of Latina/os in their historical specificity, but on the other hand, it does not ignore the fact that US Latina/o literature is a product of the United States and thus a part of "American" literature. Thus, after students progress through a series of texts that illustrate the development and growth of Latina/o literature, they will conclude by considering to what degree they can see contemporary work either writing into the "American" mainstream or rewriting that mainstream through an alternate perspective.
Race, Gender, and the News Media, The College of New Jersey
It is imperative that journalism students acquire tools for understanding the challenges inherent in the effort to rid news coverage and the news industry of bias. As a result of this course, students should be able to: 1) discuss scholarship on the role that news coverage plays in the social construction of race, class and gender; 2) discuss whether traditional journalistic practices contribute to biased and inaccurate reporting; 3) discuss whether there are elements of traditional newsroom culture which inhibit diversity efforts; and 4) discuss the impact of economic and technological change on these issues.
Contemporary Literature by African-American Women: A Study of Myth, Magic, Movement, and Meaning, Ohio State University
This course, which is interdisciplinary in its orientation, examines the literary practices of eight contemporary women authors in relation to some broad intellectual issues and themes in African-American cultural study. The course is divided into two sections. The first half of the course is devoted to works that deal specifically with myth and magic, while the second half covers books that are more "realistic" and are centered in certain historical periods. No matter what style the particular author employs, all the works deal with the realities of African-American life, from slavery to gang violence in Los Angeles.
The Women and Social Movements Web site,
SUNY Binghamton
This Web site provides primary documents
related to women and social movements
in the United States between 1820 and
1940 in order to support new ways for
students, teachers, and scholars to
study American history. The site is
organized around editorial projects
undertaken by undergraduate and graduate
students at the State University of
New York at Binghamton. Current projects
include ones focusing on issues of race,
ethnicity, and class. Each project is
organized around a question, provides
about twenty related documents and additional
images, a bibliography, and a listing
of related links. A Teacher's Corner
currently offers about sixty lesson
plans and assignments to facilitate
use of the primary documents on the
website in high school and college courses
in United States history.
New
American Literature, Rochester Institute
of Technology
Taught by Janet Zandy, this literature
course examines the diversity and complexity
of the American literary landscape.
Students are asked to reflect on their
own cultural identities as they look
at the intersections between history
and literature.
American
Identity - Class and Work, Youngstown
State University
Taught by Sherry Linkon in Fall 1996,
this American Studies course asked students
to explore the meaning of work and class
in American culture, with discussions
on the history and the future of work,
the class structure in the U.S., how
class intersects with other elements
of identity (gender, race, age, region,
sexuality), and American myths and messages
about work.
Introducing
American Studies, Brown University
This Web site offers a final report
to the National Endowment for the Humanities
from Brown University, for a grant which
allowed the department to revise its
introductory course (AC75) to better
reflect the multicultural nature of
American culture as well as to introduce
new pedagogical methods into college
teaching. The new course began in September
of 1996 seeking to break down the fifty
minute lecture into panel discussions,
mini-lectures, and group work in class.
In the report they note: "The process
of plan ning the new course and the
course itself will serve as models for
other classes at Brown, for introductory
courses in American Studies, for college
and high school classes interested in
issues of multiculturalism and in introducing
the American experience in new ways
to a range of students." A link
to the syllabus is also included.
Introduction
to Asian American Studies, University
of Michigan
Created by Gail Nomura this course,
offered through the Program in American
Culture, provides an introductory study
of the experience of Asian immigrants
and their citizen descendants in the
United States from the mid-nineteenth
century to the present. The groups covered
include Chinese, Filipino, Japanese,
Korean, Pacific Islander, South Asian,
and Southeast Asian Americans. Students
discuss international/domestic relations,
immigration policy, ethnic adaptive
strategies, ethnic community building,
constitutional issues, majority/minority
relations, and literary expressions.
Philosophical
Issues: Prejudice and Discrimination,
SUNY Cortland
Taught by Kathryn Russell in the Department
of Philosophy as part of the General
Education program, this course looked
at strategies of social change, evaluating
them as ways to enhance freedom, justice,
and equality. The course scrutinizes
institutionalized patterns of behavior
which allow racism and sexism to persist.
Rethinking
American History: The Asian American
Experience, University of Michigan
This first
year seminar, taught in Fall 1996
by Gail Nomura, uses Ronald Takaki's
Strangers from a Different Shore and additional readings to rethink and
re-envision the multicultural nature
of American history through the study
of one of the varied ethnic cultures
that form "American" culture,
the Asian American experience in U.S.
history.
Law,
Society, Difference, San Francisco
State University
This upper-division course taught
at by Anita Silvers, was designed to
fit into a sequence of philosophy courses
on law and social philosophy. It brings
together students with somewhat different
interests in disability: students with
disabilities, students whose family
members are disabled or aging noticeably,
students who have family histories pre-disposing
them to disability, students who are
majoring in fields concerned with disability,
students headed for law school, and
others.
Social Sciences
Research on Ethnic Minorities and Demographic Trends in Higher Education (pdf), University of Maryland, College Park
This course is designed to examine current research on ethnic minority student populations including issues of access, campus climate, racial identity, achievement and motivation. Students will also examine the broad demographic changes that have occurred generally in society and specifically in the college going population. These demographic changes will be examined in relationship to the critical issues facing K-16 education including curriculum and teaching, leadership and governance and the changing nature of research. Students will have an opportunity to explore these and other areas of interest to understand the direction of current research on racial ethnic minorities and major findings in the field.
Race and Politics in the Americas examines the history and current state of racial politics in North, Central, and South America, with a focus on the United States. The course involves assigned readings, weekly discussions, a video series, guest lecturers, and independent research projects.
Demography of Black Community Health, SUNY Albany
The purpose of this course is to provide the student with an introduction to the demography of health and healthcare issues of the black community. Specifically, the course emphasizes how racism in American society is a major determinant of the levels of sickness, disease and death that afflict black people. After a critical analysis of the epidemiology of slavery, the course precedes to provide linkages between racism, the access to health care, and morbidity within the black community.
This course examines conceptions and experiences of 'racial health' as they have evolved in the American South. It traces the history of racial health (primarily but not exclusively through African-American history) as a vehicle for understanding the relationship of health to regional politics, as a means of exploring the history of health, health care, and medicine in the region, and as a venue for interpreting the relationships among racial ideologies, science, and medicine. Thus the course examines how questions of race, identity, culture, biology, and political power have been implicit in the health concerns of black and white Americans in the region.
Minority Politics in the United States, California State University, Long Beach
The purpose of this course is to survey the role of "racial" minorities in American politics. To the extent possible, the course attempts to understand American politics from the point of view of politically active and engaged persons of color. The course aims to examine and carefully analyze competing ideologies and several different strategies of minority empowerment in U.S. political life.
Racial and Ethnic Demography, SUNY Albany
The purpose of this course is to provide the student with an in-depth understanding of the relationship of social and demographic phenomena relative to racial and ethnic populations. Specifically, the course emphasizes the nature of the social structure and how it differentiates between dominant and subordinate populations in society. Students will have an opportunity to analyze 2000 data from the U.S. Census relative to racial and ethnic populations.
Latinos in U.S. Politics, University of California, Irvine
This course looks at the political issues facing the
three largest Latino groups in the U.S.-Mexicans, Puerto
Ricans and Cubans-by examining their histories, voting
behavior, nonelectoral participation and policy issues.
It begins with the historical experiences of all three
groups, then turns to issues of participation, with an analysis of Latino
electoral participation and community activism. Finally,
we look at Latino issues at the national, state and
local levels, including the policy issues such as the
Voting Rights Act, formal representation, immigration,
affirmative action and language policy.
Asian Americans and California Politics (pdf), University of California, Irvine
The course will examine Asian Americans in the context of discussions about state electoral and governmental processes. This includes political participation, party and interest group behavior, elections, political leadership, and policymaking. Within these conversations, this class will touch upon such broad themes as: the origin, success and failure of ethnic political communities; the influence of immigration conditions on political participation, inter-ethnic conflict, coalition building and panethnicity; the historical role of racism and reform in California politics.
Intercultural
Communication, U.S. International
University
Taught by Linda Swanson, this course
explores communication, culture, and
intercultural communication. Interdisciplinary
in nature, this course focuses on the
need to develop self-understanding as
a first step to intercultural understanding
and begins the process of building competencies
which may facilitate effective communications
in all types of cross-cultural settings.
Ethnic
Identity and Intergroup Relations, University of Michigan
Taught by David Schoem, this sociology
course looks at multi-racial, multi-ethnic,
and multi-faith identities and relationships
as focal points for the exploration
of a wide range of questions on racial,
ethnic and religious identity and intergroup
relations. Frameworks for community
building are discussed, taking into
account issues of conflict and power
and competing social interests.
Transforming
a Developmental Psychology Course,
SUNY Buffalo
Jack Meacham, professor of psychology
at the State University of New York-Buffalo,
describes the principles he used to
incorporate diversity into a departmental
course and the influence on his teaching
in a general education course on American
Pluralism and the Search for Equality.
The syllabus is included. Also, click
here, to read an essay by Professor
Meacham describing his experience working
with student resistance to the diversity
curriculum in this course.
Sciences
Science and Race, Harvard University
This class explores sciences of race, or the way that science has been used to designate, as well as show the fictitiousness of, racial categories. It will also consider science and race, looking at such iconic cases as Tuskegee, Nazi science, genetic studies of radiation exposure in Japan, AIDS, indigenous knowledges, and DECODE in Iceland. The final section will look at scientists and race, including a consideration of prominent scientists of color, and an examination of the patterns of and reasons for the racial distribution of scientists over time.
Science, Technology, and Race, Stanford University
This course is an introduction to the numerous ways in which science, technology, and race are constructed and construct each other. Since there has been little work on this topic, students become researchers in addition to reading and discussing existing studies and each others' work. We ask specific questions about race and science/technology,
including those related to politics, class, and identity. Instead of approaching the subject from a single scholarly framework, we begin with these questions and see how various
disciplinary tools provide insight.
Rhetoric of Race and Science, University of California, Berkeley
This course explores how science has been used to establish or undermine the authority of particular views about various ethnic or racial groups in the United States, the role of
those groups in formulating scientific discourse, and the rhetorical strategies used to transform social agendas into scientific fact.
Understanding
the Biological Basis for Global Change,
Carleton College
This course is a broad survey of human
impact on the biosphere and climate.
Students will develop the skills to
understand the biological basis for
global change and to help them become
an active participant in developing
solutions for mitigating such change.
Biology Project Web site, University
of Arizona
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
has provided a grant to Dr. Michael
Gottfredsen, University of Arizona Vice
Provost for Undergraduate Education,
to support a design team charged with
developing the general structure and
supportive materials needed to deliver
student-oriented, highly interactive
learning materials on the World Wide
Web. These learning materials are used
to support the lecture, laboratory and
discussion sessions of general education
courses.
Issues
in Women's Health, Rowan University
This interdisciplinary course critically
examines issues in women's health. Biological,
socio-cultural, psychological, historical
and political processes that shape and
define women's health and healthcare
experiences will be explored, including
ways in which medical knowledge has
been contructed and applied to women's
bodies. The normal physiology and pathophysiology
will be presented within the broader
context of social, cultural and historical
interpretations. It is a primary goal
to explore these significant questions:
How has the physical functioning of
the human female body been interpreted
by the scientific community? How have
these interpretations shaped the type
and quality of medical treatment available
to women? What has been done to change
ideas about women's bodies and the health
care offered to women? What is the link
between cultural perceptions of women,
women's status and the management of
women's bodies?
Cultures of Biology, Medicine, Gender,
and Race, University of Arizona
Are women's brains different from
men's? Is there a gay gene? Are we really
ruled by our hormones? Does testosterone
make men more aggressive? Are there
racial differences in intelligence?
How much is temperament inherited? Can
women get AIDS from "normal" sex? What
about lesbians? This Tier II course
(which fulfills the gender, race, ethnicity
requirement) looks at how meanings of
gender and race are influenced by popular
conceptions of biology and medicine.
It explores controversial topics such
as gender difference in brain anatomy,
genetic models of gayness and of intelligence,
reproductive technology, hormones, and
AIDS.
The Laboratory and Social Life of Genes,
University of Arizona
The objectives of this course are:
to explore the historical, social and
political life of genes as important
mobilizers in contemporary culture;
to learn the biological precepts governing
the science of genes; and to integrate
understanding of this hybrid notion
of a gene and how it affects public
policy, human health and everyday societal
concerns.
Women
and Scientific Literacy: Building Two-Way
Streets, AAC&U
The Women and Scientific Literacy
Project seeks to make science more attractive
to women by expanding the content and
teaching methods of the science curriculum
in higher education, both within traditional
science departments and within humanities
and social science courses. Made possible
by an award from the National Science
Foundation and with leadership from
AAC&U's Program on the Status and
Education of Women, this initiative
brings together ten competitively chosen
colleges and universities in a three-year
curriculum and faculty development project.
Studies About Class
American
Identity - Class and Work, Youngstown
State University
Taught by Sherry Linkon in Fall 1996,
this American Studies course asked students
to explore the meaning of work and class
in American culture, with discussions
on the history and the future of work,
the class structure in the U.S., how
class intersects with other elements
of identity (gender, race, age, region,
sexuality), and American myths and messages
about work.
Cross Divisional
Genders/Races in/and Sciences/Technologies/Medicines, University of California, San Francisco
This course explores historical and contemporary intersections of genders, races, feminisms, sciences, and technologies, emphasizing the life sciences and biomedicine. Specific topics include feminist and postcolonial critiques of scientific epistemologies and practices; historical and contemporary constructions of differences through scientific, biomedical, and technological practices; the revaluation of indigenous knowledges and possibilities for feminist and non-racist knowledge production.
The
Women and Social Movements Web site,
SUNY Binghamton
This Web site provides primary documents
related to women and social movements
in the United States between 1820 and
1940 in order to support new ways for
students, teachers, and scholars to
study American history. The site is
organized around editorial projects
undertaken by undergraduate and graduate
students at the State University of
New York at Binghamton. Current projects
include ones focusing on issues of race,
ethnicity, and class. Each project is
organized around a question, provides
about twenty related documents and additional
images, a bibliography, and a listing
of related www links. A Teacher¡s Corner
currently offers about sixty lesson
plans and assignments to facilitate
use of the primary documents on the
website in high school and college courses
in United States history.
As described in Education Week,
the University of Washington's Training
for Interprofessional Collaboration
program draws its faculty and students
from the graduate schools of education,
public health and community medicine,
nursing, social work, and public affairs.
Students who enroll in the six-month
program participate in a series of seminars
and a team project in the community.
In this article Cohen examines the challenges
which arise when forging interdisciplinary
connections while cultivating concern
for community-building.
Program
on Intergroup Relations, Conflict, and
Community, University of Michigan
The Intergroup Relations, Conflict,
and Community (IGRCC) program links
formal education course work to the
social experiences of the students outside
of the classroom. The Program offers
first-year seminars, intergroup dialogues,
facilitator training and practicum courses,
training courses for university residence
hall staff, advanced courses on intergroup
relations, consultation and workshops,
and resource center on intergroup relations.
Women's Studies
Women/Gender/Ethnicity (pdf), Northern Arizona University
This course provides an introduction to the ways that gender intersects with ethnicity, race and class, as well as age, sexual orientation, national origin, and religion, on local, national and international levels. Although the title of this course only lists "women, gender and ethnicity," many argue that the entire "matrix of domination" based on racism, classicism, sexism and many other forms of oppression, must be exposed and dismantled for genuine progressive change to occur. Therefore, a central theme of this course is the recognition that these mutually reinforcing systems of oppression come together to form the foundations of society(ies).
Curriculum Transformation Resources on Women, Towson University
The National Center for Curriculum Transformation Resources on Women (NCCTRW) at Towson University was established to foster curricular change and the dissemination of scholarship focused on women and other forms of diversity. The Center aims to enhance the institutional goals of diversity and inclusiveness as faculty, students and staff are prepared for participation in the pluralistic society and multicultural world in which we live.
Issues
in Women's Health, Rowan University
This interdisciplinary course critically
examines issues in women's health. Biological,
socio-cultural, psychological, historical
and political processes that shape and
define women's health and healthcare
experiences will be explored, including
ways in which medical knowledge has
been contructed and applied to women's
bodies. The normal physiology and pathophysiology
will be presented within the broader
context of social, cultural and historical
interpretations. It is a primary goal
to explore these significant questions:
How has the physical functioning of
the human female body been interpreted
by the scientific community? How have
these interpretations shaped the type
and quality of medical treatment available
to women? What has been done to change
ideas about women's bodies and the health
care offered to women? What is the link
between cultural perceptions of women,
women's status and the management of
women's bodies?
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