SOC 1200 - Introduction to Diversity Studies

1. Understand the various historiographical, theoretical, and conceptual definitions of race, class, culture, religion, gender, and other forms of diversity.
2. Critically analyze the role of the media, politics, and economics in the definitions, interactions, and outcomes of protected classes in modern America.
3. Understand the reasons why the following classes tend to be protected by nondiscrimination policies in the workplace: race, sex, color, creed, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status, status about public assistance, sexual orientation, and membership or activity in a local commission as defined by law.
4. Demonstrate an informed historical perspective on significant social and cultural developments within pluralistic societies.
5. Engage in evidentiary and interpretive exploration around the identity and rights of diverse groups. These explorations may include the topics of race, sex, class, culture, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, and other forms of diversity in the United States.
6. Understand the competing and allied interests of various dominant and subordinate groups contesting for acceptance and power in the United States and other political domains.
7. Examine the underlying dynamics of various protected classes as they relate to the development of cultural and social identity.
8. Examine alternative explanations and/or solutions for contemporary social issues.

1. Introduction to the following group identities which are typically protected by law from discrimination in the workplace: race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, disability, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation, and membership or activity in a local commission as defined by law, gender and other forms of diversity including definition, theory, and various historiographical and analytical critiques.
2. Introduction to definition, theory, and various historiographical and analytical critiques of race, color, disabilities, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.
3. Examine the role that protected classes (per #1 above) play in the development of American identity.
4. Examine the particular role of race, culture, religion, and ethnicity in American history. This may include such groups as American Indians, African Americans, European immigrants, Middle Eastern immigrants, Asians, Hispanics, and other non-white, non-dominant groups.
5. Examination of the development of women’s role in American society. This may include such movements as the Cult of Domesticity, the women’s rights movement, feminism, and the ERA.
6. Examination of class in American society. This may include slavery, industrialization, immigration and urbanization, welfare, and poverty.
7. Examination of the development of gender and sexual orientation awareness, highlighting LGBTQIA distinction and advocacy movements.
8. The interplay of protected classes (per #1 above) in American political life.
9. Critical discussion of modern issues to diversity (e.g. discrimination in the workplace and immigration) and what role, if any, the government should play in the issues of race, class, gender, and other forms of diversity.