7. Obtaining multicultural status for your study abroad course
Study abroad courses often qualify for multicultural status. To apply for this qualification, follow the course approval steps established by the Faculty Senate, and keep in mind the following parameters:
Guidelines for the Multicultural Course
(Revised 1/16)
Courses certified to meet the multicultural requirement must meet three of the following criteria:
- Diversity Self-Awareness and Perspective Taking: Students can articulate their own individual identity in relation to key concepts such as race, ethnicity, language, gender, sexuality, class, disability, national origin, and religious affiliation, and can also reflect on how their social position differs from, and impacts, their relationships in diverse environments. In other words, students will learn to locate themselves within larger structures of difference and understand how their own position shapes their identity, as well as how that identity may differ from others.
- Cultural Difference: Students gain in-depth knowledge of the history, lived experience, artistic production, worldview and/or identity [I think it’s good to keep worldview because it’s outward looking. Identity is internal. Can we list both, as shown below?]of one or more underrepresented groups within the United States or, at the international level, a culture (or cultures) outside of Europe. Students can articulate particular aspects and experiences of these cultures as well as how the worldviews and identities of these cultures may be similar to or different from the students’ own.
- Personal and Social Responsibility: Students analyze the ethical, social, and/or environmental consequences of policies, ideologies, or actions on marginalized communities/groups within the US or internationally. Based on this analysis, students identify a range of potential personal and civic responses to these issues. A service learning version of this course may allow students to directly take informed and responsible action to address these challenges.
- Understanding Global Systems: Students gain and apply the tools to think systematically about how institutions, ideologies, rhetorics, and/or cultural representations shape a people’s culture and/or identity, including their role in perpetuating inequality, whether historically or in the present day.
*Faculty proposing to certify a course for the MCC must submit the following:
- Course materials demonstrating that the course will meet the three criteria. Materials may include a course syllabus, specific assignments, readings, lesson plans, etc.
- A brief (1-2 pp) proposal that explains how the attached materials address these criteria.
