Below are the questions exactly as you will see them in the Flag Proposal System when you propose your course for a Cultural Diversity flag. Your responses to these questions should allow the faculty flag committee to make an informed decision regarding your proposal.
Question 1
To satisfy the Cultural Diversity flag, at least one-third of course grade must be based on content dealing with underrepresented cultural groups in the US. Please name which underrepresented cultural groups will be studied in this course, and how one-third of the course grade is based on study of the group(s).
Responses should clearly identify the marginalized group or groups studied in the course, and how graded content based on the study of the group(s) makes up at least one-third of the course grade (for a three-credit course; 50% for a two-credit course; 100% for a one-credit course). It is helpful for the flag faculty committee to see how grading breaks down for your course, and which graded components are based on the study of the cultural group(s).
Sample response from the College of Liberal Arts: This course examines the evolution of popular U.S. stardom in relation to shifting ideals of race, gender, and sexuality. It therefore focuses a great deal on the representation of various ethnic groups in the U.S., of girls and women, and of LGBTQ individuals in popular culture. The course grade is based on weekly reading responses (10% of the grade), a midterm exam (20%), three short papers (10% each), and a research project (25%). Each of these assignments focuses on one or more underrepresented cultural groups in the U.S.
Question 2
For the purposes of the Cultural Diversity Flag, the committee understands a cultural group to be “underrepresented” if the experience of its members in the US has been or continues to be one of persistent marginalization. In order to highlight experiences of members of the underrepresented cultural groups being studied, courses carrying the Cultural Diversity Flag should, whenever possible, include texts (broadly construed) created by members of those cultural groups and give substantial consideration to diverse cultural perspectives within those groups. Please describe readings, assignments, and activities that allow students to engage in depth with these underrepresented communities, and note which assignments give students the opportunity to engage with texts created by members of these groups.
Please describe how students will study the cultural group(s) and how students will learn about the factors that led to the persistent marginalization of those cultural group(s). What readings, assignments, essays, or projects help students learn about these cultural groups? How will students examine the forces that led to and maintain the underrepresented group’s experience of persistent marginalization?
Sample response from the College of Liberal Arts: Students do extensive readings around the complexities of LGBTQA identities. A few of our core readings include Julia Serano’s “Trans Woman Manifesto” (from the Transgender Studies Reader), Kristina Gupta’s “Asexuality and Disability: Mutual Negation in Adams v. Rice and New Directions for Coalition Building,” Sheri Eisner’s “Bisexuality, Feminism, and Men,” and Janet Mock’s Redefining Realness. In addition, students write reflection papers about their relationships with the readings and discussions in class; the reflection papers culminate with a final reflection paper on their relationship with a student organization or community organization working with LGBTQA communities. The students also each create an activating scene, which is fictional and realistic, representing an LGBTQA reality on campus.
Question 3
The Cultural Diversity flag indicates that a course will challenge students to explore the beliefs and practices of an underrepresented group in relation to their own cultural experiences so that they engage in an active process of self-reflection and self-awareness. Please describe some assignments or activities that give students an opportunity for this kind of reflection.
Use this space to describe how students will critically reflect on their respective cultural experiences and how those cultural experiences inform their worldview, and how they will recognize different perspectives from underrepresented cultural group(s) in the U.S. Specific examples from assignments are strongly encouraged. What assignments or activities will encourage students to reflect on the course material as it relates to their own lives?
Sample response from the College of Liberal Arts: The premise of this class is that access to reproductive rights is fundamentally shaped by race, ability, class, and of course gender. Students will write two take-home exams about the history of coercive sterilization, access to pre- and post-natal care, adoption, assisted reproductive technology, and other topics relating to reproductive rights. Students will write several reaction papers throughout the semester, including an introspection on their own reproductive ideals. Third, students will conduct a life history with an older person, and summarize their thoughts, decisions, and experiences. The goal is to get students to have these assignments “dialogue” with each other to get a comparative perspective on race and reproduction, to map out the ways by which racial hierarchies and privilege play out in reproductive matters.
Supporting Documents
You may attach up to three supporting documents, such as a syllabus or sample assignment. Submission of supporting documents is not required, but is strongly encouraged to expedite the approval process.
(Allowed file formats: doc, docx, ppt, pptx, txt, pdf, xls, xlsx)