Why Diversity Education?

Dr. Marianne Hopper, Dean of University Programs,

including the Cultural Foundations curriculum.

Diversity education at the college level should be the subject of editorial support, not editorial comic strips. In this era of dramatic demographic and economic change, education about diversity gives college students -- the workers of tomorrow and the leaders of the future -- the understanding and skills needed for America to thrive in this changed environment.

To achieve this we need a clearer understanding of what diversity and “multiculturalism” really is. Pope John Paul II wrote: "Different cultures are basically different ways of facing the question of the meaning of personal existence . . . ." As such, culture encompasses not only history and literature, but also the arts and current issues. American culture has always been diverse because it consists of many different cultural streams flowing together to form a new cultural river. The river has always been dynamic, changing its bed as the various streams swell and narrow as they flow together and influence one another. As Professor Diane Ravitch has pointed out, American culture is itself multicultural.

We think of 1700s and 1800s America as a nation of immigrants, but in fact, America remains a nation of immigrants today. What has changed is the complexion of the newcomers. Since the Immigration and Reform Act of 1965, the new arrivals have been primarily people of color, predominantly from Asia and Latin America rather than Europe.

With this change has come a new emphasis on diversity in higher education, and in fact, throughout society. This new emphasis springs not from our continuing history of immigration, but from our dramatically changing demographics and economics. There are statistics on the changes taking place, but the point is that by early in the 21st century women and ethnic minorities will comprise a majority of the work force in this country. This change clearly affects not just education, but all of our institutions and particularly our economic institutions.

Our world, both within the United States and abroad, has become one in which intercultural involvement is inevitable. In order to compete and to succeed in this new world we will need the talents of all Americans. Our success in constructively engaging multicultural realities in this country will be the basis for our competitive success in the new global economy.

At St. Edward's University in Austin, we anticipated this reality and developed a diversity curriculum to prepare our students for this inevitable future. As the Director of Cultural Foundations at St. Edward's, I preside over a program of undergraduate study that has a required core of six courses in Cultural Foundations. We worked closely with the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in developing this curriculum. Subsequently, we have been recognized as a leader in the area by being selected as one of 20 Resource Institutions in the AAC&U's ambitious multi-year initiative "American Commitments: Diversity, Democracy and Liberal Learning," on whose ideas I have drawn for this public comment.

The issue of teaching about diversity has been clouded by a rancorous debate over "political correctness" that implies we must choose either to study western civilization or the rest of the world, or that we must choose between traditional U.S. history and the stories of the many immigrants to this land. This is a false dichotomy. It is not either/or that we need, but both/and. We must see that students are familiar with both the western tradition and the alternatives. They must be familiar with the traditional view of U.S. history as well as the stories of individual groups of people who forged that history.

To do this we take students from what they know best to that which is less familiar. The American experience has varied with gender, race, ethnic status and social class of the participant. The Cultural Foundations sequence begins with The American Experience. The purpose of the course is to examine diversity of experience throughout the country's history and to look at it in the context of the American civic culture that holds us together as a people. The next course, American Dilemmas, continues the theme of social pluralism. Students examine current social problems and address questions of individual and public responsibility, seeking to define the common good and formulate solutions. Another goal of this course is to help create an active and informed electorate. The third and fourth courses in the sequence were recently revised to promote greater global understanding among St. Edward’s students. History/Evolution of Global Processes deals with major developments in the history of global economics, specifically politics and cultural processes from the 16th to the 21st centuries, while Contemporary World Issues focuses on significant global issues that impact a particular (non-U.S.) area of the world. In addition to these four courses, each student takes a course exploring art in historical context and a literature course that examines both mainstream and minority voices.

We believe that students come to a much deeper understanding of themselves if they understand the values, assumptions and varying legacies of their own culture and the cultures of others. In addition, graduates with an understanding of different cultures are better able to meet responsibilities to the world community. A consensus has emerged in higher education that every curriculum needs broadening to encompass the cultural experience of women, minorities, and gay, lesbian and transgender citizens. St. Edward's has done just this in the Cultural Foundations courses.

Diversity education is essential for our personal well being in this country. It is also essential that America deal effectively with the issue of diversity because we serve as a model. Since World War II, the rest of the world has looked to the U.S. for leadership. The ideological contest between communism and capitalism is over, and conflicts in our world today are largely focused on economic competition and cultural differences. If the United States can successfully deal with its diversity, we offer an example to countries all over the world.