A course at Indiana University (IU) is under scrutiny for its controversial approach to teaching diversity.
The course, titled "Understanding Diversity in a Pluralistic Society," is reportedly encouraging students to label themselves as "oppressors" based on inherent characteristics such as race, sex, and religion. The course's curriculum requires students to identify and reflect on their "dominant" and "subordinate" traits.
As reported by The Post Millennial, the course is part of the University's "social and historical studies" requirement and is conducted within the School of Social Work. The course is led by Professor Colleen Rose, who also serves as the director of student engagement at the university's Center for Rural Engagement.
In the course, students are presented with a chart that categorizes "dominant" and "subordinate" groups in the United States. They are then tasked with writing an "in-depth reflection of two parts of [their] identity: one subordinate identity and one dominant identity." This reflection forms the final assignment for the course, which assumes that each student possesses at least one "dominant" and one "subordinate" characteristic.
The chart lists dominant characteristics as being white, heterosexual, middle- or upper-class, Christian, or able-bodied. However, not all students found themselves possessing a subordinate characteristic from the provided list. One student revealed to the media outlet that they had to fabricate a characteristic to complete the assignment.
The student expressed their frustration, stating, "I'm being punished through an assignment for my identity as a person, and that's just crazy. I had to make something up and I don't enjoy doing that." Professor Rose did not provide guidance on how to approach the assignment for students who did not identify with a subordinate characteristic.
The student further criticized the course, saying, "It's very rich that in a class where we are supposed to be talking about identity and not suppressing identity, I'm forced to suppress my own identity. I have to suppress myself because I'm presumed to be some privileged, horrible human being that didn't grow up without food. That's insane to me."
This incident raises questions about the methods employed in teaching diversity and the potential for such approaches to inadvertently promote division and stereotype reinforcement. It also underscores the need for universities to ensure that their curricula respect and value all students' identities, rather than categorizing them based on inherent characteristics.
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