4 Syllabus Statement for US: DIA Purpose and Learning Goals
Instructors of DIA courses can use the following statement on their course syllabus to articulate the purpose and learning goals of a DIA course:
This course fulfills the United States: Difference, Inequality, and Agency category of the Cultural Literacy Core Education requirement, a requirement informed by UO student activism. It is meant to develop students’ analytical and reflective capacities to help them understand and ethically engage with the ongoing (cultural, economic, political, social, etc.) power imbalances that have shaped and continue to shape the United States. In addition to considering the scholarship, cultural production, perspectives, and voices from members of historically marginalized communities, students in DIA courses:
- Inquire into intersecting aspects of identity such as race, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, indigeneity, national origin, religion, or ability.
- Analyze uses of power to marginalize on the basis of identity, as well as responses and agency on the part of marginalized groups.
- Examine historical and contemporary structures, forms of knowledge, cultural practices, or ideologies that perpetuate or change the distribution of power in society.
and undertake one or more of the following:
- Reflect on one’s own individual identifications and how these are connected to systems of power.
- Practice respectful listening and ethical dialogue around deeply felt or controversial issues.
