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Office of the President: Diversity at Colby

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ACADEMIC DIVERSITY REQUIREMENT

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E-mail comments to Dive rsity Coordinating Group

April 3, 2002

TO: Faculty
FROM: Academic Affairs Committee
Re: Proposed Revision of All-College Diversity Requirement

As requested by the faculty in October 2001, the Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) has reconsidered its proposal of May 9, 2001 for a change in the Diversity requirement. The AAC, in response to feedback from faculty, has developed the following language for the requirement, which has been endorsed by the Multicultural Affairs Committee.

Moved: To replace the existing one-course Diversity requirement with a two-course requirement as follows:

Students are required to pass two courses that are centrally concerned with:

b) efforts at political and cultural change directed against; and/or

c) progress in overcoming prejudice, privilege, oppression, inequality and injustice.

One of these courses must deal with these issues as they concern the United States, and one must deal with these issues in a context other than the United States.

Implementation: If approved by the faculty and by the Board of Trustees before the end of the 2001-2002 academic year, the new requirement would go into effect with the Class of 2007 (entering in Fall 2003). Courses that have been taught as of the end of 2001-2002 academic year would be designated by departments and programs as fulfilling either part of the requirement (i.e., self-identification). As per established procedure, proposals for new or significantly revised courses would include a recommendation to AAC from the instructor and the department or program regarding whether a course should fulfill either the U.S. or the non-U.S. part of the proposed requirement. As is the case for courses that count toward the current Diversity requirement, a course could fulfill either the U.S. or the non-U.S. requirement and also fulfill one other area requirement (e.g., Literature or Historical Studies). No course could fulfill both the U.S. and the non-U.S. part of the proposed requirement.

In February 2002, the revised language above was sent to department chairs and program directors with a request that they identify courses that could be used to fulfill the proposed requirement. This constituted, in large part, a feasibility study, i.e., a test of whether there would be enough courses offered on the U.S. and non-U.S. sides of the requirement so that students would have ample opportunity to fulfill both components of the requirement. As shown on the following pages, there are several dozen courses, many without specific course prerequisites, in a variety of departments and programs that could fulfill either the U.S. or the non-U.S. requirement. The lists of courses, along with the summary data on potential and actual enrollments in the courses, provide strong support for the feasibility of the proposed requirement with regard to the availability of courses.

CURRENT DIVERSITY REQUIREMENT
(Colby College Catalogue, 2001-2002, p. 25)
Students are required to pass one course centrally concerned with how diversities among peoples have contributed to the richness of human experience. Courses that may be taken to fulfill the requirement are those that (a) focus on history, perspectives, or culture of non-Western peoples or on a culture whose origins lie outside of the European traditions; (b) focus on issues and/or theories of ethnicity, gender, or class as these may be found anywhere in the world; or (c) examine the nature, history, and workings of prejudice as experienced by any group. Courses meeting this requirement are identified in catalogue descriptions.

NEW DIVERSITY REQUIREMENT

COURSES TO FUFILL U.S. COMPONENT OF REVISED DIVERSITY REQUIREMENT
Prospective List Based on Department/Program Feedback, as of 3/29/02
Note: Letter(s) in parentheses following course title indicates current area requirement designation]
Note: Asterik signifies that there is no stated course prerequisite]

American Studies
*271 Introduction to American Studies
*275 Gender and Popular Culture (D)
*276 African American Culture in the United States (S, D)
*277 Introduction to Asian American Culture (D)
279 The American Gothic Tradition
*334 Film and Society
*378 American Dreams: The Documentary Film Perspective (D)
*398 Alternative Popular Cultures (D)
*398 Literature and Culture of the American South

Anthropology
211 Indigenous Peoples & Cultures of North America
256 Land, Food, Culture, Power
354 Native American Religion & Empowerment
373 Anthropology of Gender and Sexuality

Biology
*397 Science, Race and Gender (H, D) (also listed as HI 397)

Education and Human Development
*215 Children and Adolescents in Schools and Society (S, D)
*231 Teaching for Social Justice (S, D)
*235 Revolutionary Multiculturalism (S, D)
316 Education, Environment, and Social Justice (S, D)
318 Moral Development and Education
*332 Women, Girls, and the Culture of Education (D)
336 American Education (H)
493 Senior Seminar in Education and Human Development

English
*115 Social Learning sections
336 Early American women Writers (L, D)
*342 American Indian Literature (L, D)
*343 African American Literature (L, D)
*362 Art and Oppression (L, D)
397 Topics in American Indian Literature
*398 Culture and Literature of the American South
*413 Toni Morrison (L)
426 African American Women's Literature
*457 American Gothic Literature (L)
*493D Mark Twain (L)

Government
*111 Introduction to American Government and Politics (S)
211 The American Presidency
212 The American Congress
273 American Political Thought
313 Constitutional Law I: Federalism
314 Constitutional Law I: Individual Rights
317 The Policy-Making Process
320 The Rights Revolution and Its Discontents
414 Seminar: Ethics in Politics
475 Seminar: Law, Liberty and Morality

History
*131 Survey of United States History, to 1865 (H)
*132 Survey of United States History, 1865 to the Present (H)
134 History, Technology, Culture (H)
136 The American Superpower, 1945-1970 (H)
*231 American Women's History, to 1870 (H, D)
*232 American Women's History, 1870 to the Present (H, D)
*233 Not Work: The Rise of Sport and Leisure in America (H)
*234 The American Revolution (H)
*239 The Era of the Civil War (H)
*244 Changing Notions of Progress (H)
*247 African-American History, from Slavery to Freedom (H, D)
*281 Jews and Judaism in America (H, D)
*333 American Cultural History, 1600-1685 (H)
*334 U.S. Cultural History, 1860-1974 (H)
*336 America: The New World, 1607-1783 (H)
*340 Seminar: Biographies and Autobiographies of Great American Women (H, D)
*342 Crisis and Reform: American Society and Politics in the 1960s (H)
*347 America in Vietnam (H)
*397 Science, Race and Gender (H, D) (also listed as BI 397)
433 Research Seminar: United States Cultural History, 1890-1915 (H)
435 Research Seminar: The American Civil War (H)
477 Research Seminar: The Cold War (H)

Music
232 Jazz History (D)
238 Burnt Biscuits and Green Onions: From Rhythm and Blues to Soul (A, D)

Philosophy
*155 Feminist Philosophy (S, S)
*272 Applied Ethics (S, D)
*312 Topics in Feminist Theory (S, D)

Religious Studies
298 Texts of Terror: Violence in the Bible (to be taught first in Spring 2003)
318 Seminar: Mary Daly

Sociology
*131 Principles of Sociology (S, D) (4 sections annually)
*136 Sociology and Work (S, D) (40/40, S'02)
217 Politics and Society (16/30, F'00)
*231 Contemporary Social Problems (S, D)
233 Crime and Justice in American Society
235 Sociology of Religion
*238 The School in American Society
252 Race, Ethnicity and Society (D)
274 Social Inequality and Power (D)
*276 Sociology of Gender (S, D)
278 Sociology of Sexuality (S, D)
292 Social Change
354 Sociology and the American Race Problem
355 African-American Women and Social Change (D)
356 Health and Illness (S)
*357 Civil Rights, Black Power, and Social Change (S, D)
378 Welfare Policy in Sociological Perspective (D)

Spanish
*SP 276 US Latina/Chicana Women Writers

Theater and Dance
*349 Topics in Dramatic Literature: Contemporary American Playwrights
349 Topics in Dramatic Literature: Contemporary Women Playwrights

Women's Studies
*311 Seminar in Feminist Theory (D)
*315 Contemporary Asian American Women Writers (L, D)

SUMMARY:
Total Number of Courses (does not include new courses approved by AAC in 01-02): 94

Annual Spaces Available in Courses Listed Above:

Annual Enrollment in Courses Listed Above:

COURSES TO FULFILL NON-U.S. COMPONENT OF REVISED DIVERSITY REQUIREMENT
Prospective List Based on Department/Program Feedback, as of 3/29/02
Note: Letter(s) in parentheses following course title indicates current area requirement designation]
Note: Asterik signifies that there is no stated course prerequisite]

Ancient History (in the Department of Classics)
*154 Roman History (H)
*158 Greek History (H)
*332 Manhood in Greek Society and Literature (L, D)

Anthropology
*112 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (S, D) (4 sections per year)
*113 Language, Culture and Society (S, D)
213 Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples
217 Race and Ethnicity: Cross-cultural Perspectives
231 Caribbean Society and Culture
235 Latin American Culture and Society
237 Ethnographies of Africa
239 Southeast Asian Societies and Cultures
252 Hunger, Poverty and Population: The Anthropology of Development
254 Women of the African Diaspora
329 Myth and Poetics
452 Anthropology of Power
456 Anthropology of Time

Classics
*133 Greek Myth and Literature (L)
*138 Heroes of the World (L)
*139 Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem
232 Greek Tragedy
*234 In Search of a Strong Man (H)
*236 Roman Legends and Literature (L)
*238 Myth in the City: The Tragedies of Aeschylus (L)
*240 The Tragic Hero: The Drama of Sophocles (L)
*242 Tragedies of Passion: Euripides (L)
*258 Romans and Jews: History and Religion (H, D)

East Asian Studies
*198 Pioneering the Modern: the Literature of Edo and Meiji Japan
*252 Hell on Earth? Modern Chinese Writers on Chinese Society (L, D)
*254 China in Transition: An Anthropological Account (S, D) (also listed as AY 264s)
*271 Women in Japanese Cinema and Literature (L, D)
297j Love and Death in the Literature of Premodern Japan
*332 Masterpieces: Modern Japanese Fiction (L, D)
*351 Imaging Chinese Women: Ideas and Ideals in Chinese Literature (L, D)

English
*266 British Literary History 1600-1900 (L)
*315 Irish Renaissance (L)
*321 British Romantic Period (L)
*348 Postcolonial Literatures (L)
*349 Modern Jewish Writing (L, D)
398B Medieval Anti-Judiaisms
*398C Desire and Autonomy in Medieval Women's Writing (L)
*411 Shakespearean Text/Performance (when topics apply)
*412 Shakespeare's Construction of Character (when topics apply)
*417 Literary Criticism: 20th C Marxism and Popular Culture (L)
*423 Holocaust: History, Literature, and Film (L, D)
*493CFranz Kafka (L, D)

French
238 Introduction to Francophone Africa (D)
*350 Francophone Literature (L, D)
*351 French-Canadian Literature and Society (L)
*353 Francophone Women Writers (L, D)
*397 African Cinema: The Power of Images

Government
*151 Comparative Politics: An Introduction to Politics Outside the United States (S, D)
*171 Introduction to Political Theory (S)
*237 Justice and War (S)
*251 Israelis and Palestinians: Conflict and Accommodation (S, D)
252 Politics of the Middle East (D)
253 Latin American Politics (D)
*254 Latin American Politics in Film (S, D)
255 Introduction to Chinese Politics (D)
257 Introduction to the Politics and Government of West Europe
258 Introduction to the Politics and Government of Eastern Europe
261 Introduction to Japanese Politics (D)
263 The Balkan Crisis
271 Classical Political Theory
272 Modern Political Theory
351 United States Policy Toward the Middle East (D)
*353 Promoting Democracy in Transitional Countries
450 Seminar: Democratization in Latin America
451 Seminar: Political Violence, Revolutions, and Ethnic Conflict

History
*111 Europe from Late Antiquity to 1618 (H)
*112 A Survey of Modern Europe (H)
*150 Introduction to East Asia (H, D) (also listed as East Asian 150)
*173 History of Latin America (H, D)
*181 Jewish History I: From Antiquity to 1492 (H, D)
*182 Jewish History II: From 1492 to the Present (H, D)
*209 History as Fiction: The Medieval Historical Novel and Film
*212 England from 1066 to 1603 (H)
*214 Italian Renaissance (H, D)
*215 Heresy, Humanism, and Reform (H)
*220 Yugoslavia: Emergence to Dissolution (H)
*223 European Politics, Culture, and Thought: 1789-1914 (H)
*224 Germany and Europe, 1971-1945 (H)
*227 The Russian Empire: Russia Looks to the West, 1613-1905 (H)
*228 The Russian Empire: Soviet History and 20th-Century Revolutions (H)
*254 The World of Ming China, 1368-1644 (H, D)
*256 Japan from Early Times to the 17th Century (H, D)
*257 Modern Japan (H, D)
*261 African History (H, D)
*272 History of Law, Society, and Rebellion in Mexico (H, D)
*273 History of Women, Gender and Family in Latin America (H, D)
*275 Strongmen and Populism in Modern Spain and Latin America (H)
*276 Patterns and Processes in World History (H)
*277 History of the Maya from 200 B.C. (H, D)
*283 Jewish Biography and Autobiography (H, D)
*297A Jews in the Middle East (H)
*297B The Atlantic Slave Trade (H)
*313 Women in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (H, D)
*317 The Gothic Moment: Paris and the Ile-de-France (H)
*318 Medicine and Disease in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (H, D)
*319 France in the Ancien Regime (H)
*320 The Crisis of European Civilization, 1900-1925 (H)
*322 Europe and the Second World War (H)
*364 African Economic History (H, D)
*382 Women in Modern Jewish History (H, D)
*384 Dilemmas of Modern Jewish Identity (H, D)
386 Anti-Semitism (H, D)
*394 Ecological History (H)
*398A Emancipation and Its Critics: Jews in Modern France
411 Sainthood and Popular Devotion in the Middle Ages (H)
*413 Research Seminar: Joan of Arc: History, Legend, and Film (H)
421 Research Seminar: Debating the Nazi Past (H)
422 Research Seminar: Topics in Modern European Women's History (H, D)
452 Research Seminar: The Rise of Modern East Asia (H, D)
*481 Research Seminar: Ecology and History (H)

Latin American Studies
*171 Introduction to Latin American Studies (H, D)

Religious Studies
*312 South Asian Women at the Crossroads: Tradition and Modernity (L, D)
317 Seminar: Sikhism (S, D)
398 Deicide vs. Ditheism: Jewish/Christian Dialogue through the Millennia (new, Spring 2003)

Russian (in German and Russian)
*271 Human Rights in World Literature (L, D)

Science, Technology and Society
*212 Native Natural Knowledge (H, D)
*281 Global Environmental History (H)

Sociology
*134 Global Sociology (S, D) (40/40, S'02)
251 Population Problems in International Perspective (D)
333 Globalization (D)
336 The Sociology of Food (D)
338 Genocide and Political Violence (D)
359 Social Movements (D)

Spanish
*271 Questions of Identity, Space, and Power (L)
493 Sexual Dissidence in Cuba

Women's Studies
*113 Introduction to Women's Literature and Feminist Criticism (L, D)
*221 Gender, Race, and the Politics of Difference (D)
*493 WS Senior Seminar (D)

SUMMARY:
Total Number of Courses (does not include new courses approved by AAC in 01-02): 94

Annual Spaces Available in Courses Listed Above:

Annual Enrollment (1998-1999 through 2001-2002):

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