Diversity: the heart of the Arts and Sciences curriculum in the classroom by Arthur W. Herriott

At the core of a university's diversity enhancement plan is its curriculum. For the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences, intrinsic to our pursuits are teaching and conducting research on cultures not only of the immediate area but from around the world. Thus, diversity is at the heart of what our faculty "do." Studies of other cultures permeate virtually every discipline in the college. To put these studies into a coherent framework, the college has specific programs at the certificate, baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral levels that allow students to explore how others live, think, and express themselves.

In addition to an infusion of cultural issues in the curriculum, the college offers the following certificate programs: African-New World Studies, Ancient Mediterranean Civilization, Asian Studies, Asian Globalization and Latin American Studies, Brazil Studies, Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, Ethnic Studies, European Studies, Gerontological Studies, International Studies, Jewish Studies, MERCOSUR (which focuses on the study of the southern cone of South America), and Women's Studies. (These are not the only certificate programs in the college.)

As faculty expertise expands, new certificates are created. Since all these certificate programs are interdisciplinary, they explore different aspects of various cultures, allowing for breadth of knowledge in several fields.

Although for many years students secured the Certificate in Women's Studies, now they can obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree. Majors in Women's Studies are recommended to minor or obtain a second major in another discipline and upon completion of the degree may pursue graduate studies in a variety of fields. To showcase scholarship in gender studies, during each Women's History Month, the Women's Studies Center sponsors a conference that includes nationally renowned scholars.

Bolstered by a special legislative appropriation, the African-New World Studies Program began as a certificate program and recently inaugurated the Master of Arts degree. By offering three distinctive tracks, this degree program addressees the needs of both students who wish to continue graduate studies in the field and those who require graduate training as part of professional development. Each track has a set of core courses and then allows students to choose course work that best suits their interests.

One track is in the Pedagogy of the African Diaspora, specially designed for public school teachers who need to infuse African studies into the curriculum. The second one is National and Transnational Policy Analysis. The course work in this track focuses on the examination and analysis of national and transnational policies relevant to African people in black urban and rural communities in national and international contexts. This track addresses the interests of those in the social sciences and in government service.

The third track, Cultural Studies, focuses on the study, research, practice, performance, and analysis of cultural formations in the African Diaspora. This track is of particular interest to people in the humanities and the arts. All three tracks, however, have the flexibility to allow students to develop a curriculum that meets their needs and prepare students for doctoral work in the discipline.

To support the needs of Miami-Dade County public school teachers, the Program offers an intensive summer program focusing on the pedagogy of the African Diaspora by examining its literature, language, and culture. During 2000, the course culminated in a trip to the Caribbean island of Grenada to allow students to experience life in another cultural setting.

The college's first, and, perhaps the strongest, area of studies of cultures is that of Latin America and the Caribbean. Arts and Sciences departments hired faculty to teach and conduct research in this area from the outset. However, the creation in 1977 of the Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) by Mark Rosenberg, now provost, and Mark Szuchman, now Arts and Sciences associate dean, coalesced the emphasis on this area.

The LACC certificate has been one on the college's most popular one, and the Master of Arts in Latin American Studies, although relatively young, has a sizable enrollment. It requires courses in a variety of disciplines, while offering a depth concentration to ensure that students have expertise in a specific discipline.

Through all these programs and the several thousand courses taught annually in the college, students have the opportunity to study different cultures in depth. The greater the depth of knowledge students (and faculty and staff) gain about each other, the better they will be able to accept and celebrate their differences. One of the many ways the College of Arts and Sciences promotes diversity is through the discovery and dissemination of knowledge. This is a cardinal feature of who we are, and it will remain so as we develop institutionally over ensuing decades.

Arthur W. Herriott, Ph.D., is dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Florida International University.