St. John’s University now offers a critical race theory MINOR
A New York City college has added Critical Race Theory as their newest minor for students to take.
One student said that the minor will "increase the racial divide on our campus."
St. John’s University in New York City has announced it will offer a 15-credit “Critical Race & Ethnic Studies Interdisciplinary” minor.
The interdisciplinary minor is described as a method for students to study and research major critical race theory subjects like “social inequalities, international migration, economic globalization, healthcare systems, legal and carceral structures, colonialism, and empire.”
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”Critical Race & Ethnic Studies devotes itself to the study of social justice issues shaped by race, ethnicity, class, dis/ability, gender, sexuality, and other contemporary and historical forms of group-differentiation. It also looks to the political struggles of systematically and structurally marginalized people as resources for exploring innovative strategies for social transformative action,” a webpage for the minor states.
The required courses are Introduction to Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Methodologies in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Anti-Blackness around the Globe, Comparative Racializations: Blackness, Indigeneity, Asianness, and Latinidad; and Capstone Seminar in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies.
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The Director of the CRES program, Natalie Byfield told The Torch that “this program prioritizes the perspectives of the peoples across the globe who have been subjugated, minoritized, and marginalized.”
“This is knowledge that applies to all fields of work,” Blyfield also told the newspaper. “Since this perspective is often marginalized or left out of traditional approaches of study in all disciplines, students who develop a mastery in this area will be able to apply it to any career path they take.”
St. John’s University student Anthony Romano told Campus Reform that the creation of the minor will not do much to decrease racial disparities.
“The creation of this minor will do nothing to decrease racial disparities. Rather, it will simply increase the racial divide on our campus,” Romano said. “Acting as though race is a defining characteristic is harmful and false. The color of our skin should not and does not matter; the content of our character, the way we treat others, and our beliefs, however, do. Skin is not a defining characteristic. Our university and society need to stop pretending that it is.”
St. John’s University Turning Point USA President Mark Huber told Campus Reform that he feels as if it’s a way for the university to influence students’ thinking.
“To me, it seems like a minor that tries to get students to renounce their ‘white privilege’ by taking a minor to make you more ‘woke,’” Huber said.
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