Unpacking Student-Facing Rationales for University Required Diversity Coursework

While much attention has been paid to the outcomes associated with required diversity coursework, less research has been conducted on institutional frameworks which argue for the necessity of curricular diversity requirements. This work aims to fill this gap by analyzing the rhetoric institutions use to describe the role of diversity in the undergraduate general education core. This project analyzes the rationales for diversity coursework provided in 80 public-facing course descriptions of 249 universities with required diversity courses in their general education curriculum. These rationales were most likely to align with the diversity rationale that is used in conjunction with legislation around affirmative action cases. Universities highlight the importance of these courses for living and working in a pluralistic society, the value of awareness of diverse others, as well as justifications rooted in social justice and improving campus climate. This piece argues that universities over-rely on the benefits of diversity for all students and risk advancing an “interest convergence” based agenda that may only benefit marginalized students so long as it also benefits the dominant majority.