'Environmental Justice,' 'Antiracism and Health' courses will fulfill UVermont diversity requirement
Students at the University of Vermont are required to take six credits of diversity-related courses.
The University of Vermont announced available courses for students to fulfill their diversity credit requirements for the coming Fall 2023 semester, including one that encourages “self-reflection regarding one’s own prejudices.”
Students at the University of Vermont (UVM) are required to take a three-credit course titled “Race and Racism in the U.S.” from “Diversity Category 1” and either a second three-credit course either from “Diversity Category 1” or a course from “The Diversity of Human Experience,” according to the university’s course catalog. Most courses are dedicated to racism and the various places where it manifests itself.
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One course titled “Dvrsty Issues: Math/Sci/Egr“ has students examining the “landscape of race/gender in STEM” while also exploring concepts of power and privilege, “improving diversity in technical professions,” and “communication in a multicultural environment.”
Other topics the course will discuss include “environmental justice” and “self-reflection regarding one’s own prejudices.” Students can explore the concept of “Environmental justice” more in-depth in another course of the same name the university offers that also meets the Category 1 requirement.
Those enrolled in “Environmental Justice“ will study sustainability and decolonial movements, “as well as how racism, classism, prejudice, and power are intimately intertwined with epistemic practices in science, technology, and environmental governance.”
The Environmental Protection Agency defines “environmental justice” as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”
Students in “Antiracism and Health“ will investigate “the intersection of racism and healthcare and how this intersection shapes the way we treat and interact with one another across a wide spectrum of differing identities.” Those enrolled will also gain “an appreciation for antiracist health-professionalism.”
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Another course that could fill the diversity credit requirement includes “Interrogating White Identity,” which is described as an “Introductory examination of white identity development and white identity development models from an ecological perspective,” according to the course page.
Campus Reform contacted all parties mentioned for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.
