To ensure that students learn of diversity in the human condition and become acquainted with methods of inquiry for understanding and respecting cultural differences, in 1991 the Oberlin College faculty adopted a cultural diversity requirement for the BA degree. The requirement is based on the belief that well-educated persons in today’s interdependent world should study and analyze cultures other than their own. By observing distinctions in class, ethnicity, gender, language, race, religion, and sexual orientation, students can comprehend the differences that have historically set social groups apart from one another and develop a greater capacity for intellectual open-mindedness and tolerance.
By establishing the areas of coursework described below, the faculty recognizes the different approaches to cultural diversity. Some courses provide appreciation of specific cultures and societies, whether non-Western or Western, through the study of language, history, or thought. Others stress cross-cultural approaches in understanding cultural differences.
The cultural diversity requirement is not intended to promote the subordination of the Western tradition to other traditions. Rather, it is founded on the belief that breadth in a liberal arts education involves exposure not only to the three divisions of higher learning (the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Sciences), but also to cross-cultural and multicultural analysis. The faculty views the cultural diversity requirement as an expression of the College’s longstanding commitment to a genuinely pluralistic community of scholars.
