Racial Issues Criteria

Any course that is approved as part of the racial issues curriculum must be wholly devoted to issues of race and racism and address four fundamental areas. No percentages are specified for each area, but all must be addressed.

• Understanding
• Education
• Awareness
• Student Growth

Understanding:

A course must examine the concept and meaning of race, ethnicity and oppression.

Education:

A course must explore the heritage, culture, and contributions of racial minorities; the impact of racial classification; and the patterns of racial oppression, racial domination and hate crimes in the United States. 

Awareness:

A course must explore experiences of racial minorities and how members of racial minorities maintain a sense of identity despite persistent and systematic racial oppression and hate crimes.

Student Growth:

A course must provide a significant arena for dialogue and/or self-reflection on understanding, education, and awareness.

Interpretation and Understanding

The Racial Issues Colloquium interpret and understand the above criteria more specifically as:

• Understanding: A course must examine the historically and socially constructed concepts and meanings of race, racism, ethnicity and oppression. Specifically a course must address African-Americans, Asian-Americans, American-Indians and Latino/as in the United States today.
• Education: A course must explore the patterns of racial oppression, racial domination and hate crimes; the impact of racial classification as well as the heritage, culture and contributions of under represented and oppressed people of color in the United States.
• Awareness: A course must raise consciousness of the daily and institutional realities of racial discrimination as well as racial privileges experienced by different racial groups. In addition a course must explore how members of racially oppressed groups maintain a sense of identity in the face of persistent and systemic racial oppression.
• Student Growth: A course must provide a significant arena for critical dialogue and self-reflection on the role of racial power relations in students’ lives.