CMU Intergroup dialogue course updated
Last year, the Academic Senate approved the Intergroup Dialogue Groups for undergraduate students.
This semester, the Foundation Course in Intergroup Dialogue is in the developmental stages to become a permanent class next fall.
At three credit hours, the class will be an hour-long course starting in 2010, aimed at increasing student’s cultural empathy skills when they interact with others who are of different cultural identities, according to a March 2008 Academic Senate Executive Board Meeting Minutes.
Registrar Karen Hutslar is supportive of the initiative because it was a successful program at the University of Michigan, she said.
“The main purpose is to challenge students to interact with others who are different from them and to take that knowledge and understanding outside of the classroom. I feel these skills are essential in today’s global society,” she said.
This plan was created for diversity throughout CMU to ensure inclusion among students, and encouraging development of study programs and courses that enhance students’ learning about underrepresented groups and global issues.
The Intergroup Dialogue would possibly replace SOC 101/ANT 101: Social Justice in a Global Society. Mary Senter, professor of sociology, said the Intergroup dialogue program exists at many U.S. universities and is an excellent program.
“Students here at CMU should look forward to the opportunity of being a part of these dialogues. We should all be very pleased that this opportunity will be available at CMU,” she said.
