The NDSU Department of Sociology and Anthropology is introducing a new minor in cultural diversity, starting this fall semester.

The coursework aims to strengthen students’ understanding of how race, class, gender, ethnicity, nationality and sexuality interact to define identities and shape social relations. The goal of is to bring cohesion to a variety of courses selected to increase students’ critical thinking about issues of diversity.

The minor requires 12 credits of foundational and core courses and six elective credits.

“The minor is needed because we do not have a program that focuses explicitly on cultural diversity. Our department – and other great departments across campus – teaches a variety of courses that address different aspects of cultural diversity, but we felt that it would be meaningful for students to have a way to focus and harness that variety in a coherent way in order to develop greater depth of understanding of cultural diversity,” said Christina Weber, professor of sociology and chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

“Over the last several years, we have been finding that a growing number of career paths and jobs are looking for applicants who have knowledge and skills in the areas of diversity and equity. We think this is great first step to help prepare students for these jobs and strengthen their skills and knowledge in this area,” she said.

The coursework is described as a valuable complement to a variety of fields, because students will work in collaborative teams with people of a variety of cultural backgrounds. “Areas such as architecture, nursing, criminal justice and engineering are just a few that we think would find value in this minor,” Weber said. “We plan to reach out to many units across campus to talk more about the benefits of this minor over the school year.”

For more information, contact Weber at christina.d.weber@ndsu.edu.

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