The course focuses on contemporary and historical issues of race, ethnicity, gender, social class, and religious sectarianism in American life. It examines the multicultural, multiethnic nature of American society from the viewpoints of both men and women and of people of diverse ethnicities, social classes, and religious creeds. Faculty members teaching this course attend a three-week summer faculty development workshop that focuses on both the course content and pedagogy. Occidental College Los Angeles, California Diversity is infused into a multi-course general education program called the Cultural Studies Program . This program stresses interdisciplinary as well as discipline-specific coursework and seeks to communicate the multidimensional nature of knowledge.
Students begin with a yearlong seminar-colloquia.
In the fall semester, the colloquium and seminar each earn four units of credit and typically constitute one-half of the student's course load. The colloquium-seminar is supplemented by a requirement that students participate in the study of culture as embodied in the arts and sciences as well as the humanities and social sciences. The Cultural Foundations courses at St. Edward's encompass eighteen of fifty-seven required general education credit hours spanning all four years. Their aim is to help students develop a balanced understanding and appreciation for their own and other cultures. Courses are all multidisciplinary.