The Freshman Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small seminar setting. Freshman seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Enrollment is limited to 15 freshmen.

Diversity is perhaps the most important social issue in America. As a concept, diversity includes and relates to a number of other issues, such as racism, discrimination, social justice, immigration, marginality, integration, and so forth. Many a program has been put in place to address and resolve these issues, in the hope that, over time, America would come together and make all of its differences work collectively as one harmonious and integrated society. For some people, this is already happening. For others, America seems more divided now than ever, and diversity has failed to deliver on its promise. This seminar will delve into the complexities of this thing we call diversity, to explore the rhetoric and the reality of diversity as it currently exists in America. We will do this by reading accounts of diversity as it happens—not just in the news but also in a variety of different media—and then learning how to discuss critically the central issues of diversity. The goal is not just to talk about diversity, but also to learn how to talk about diversity in ways that are both critical and constructive. Diversity is an extraordinarily sensitive issue, and too many people simply avoid the conversation to avoid the discomfort that might ensue.

Requisites

• Students with 1-2 Terms in Attendance

Repeat Rules