The Brandeis Core

Today’s world has been shaped by forces that cannot be understood without taking a broad global perspective.

Human experience has been influenced by the expansion of democracy; technological, environmental, moral and aesthetic changes; greater attention to the protection of human rights; and the improvement of economic conditions for many. However, progress has not been equal, and for many, circumstances have worsened.

Our world and its peoples continue to be deeply challenged by new forms of age-old problems. Religious, ethnic, racial, gender and sexual differences are used as grounds for persecution, exclusion and other forms of unequal treatment. The effects of climate change are likely to exacerbate already growing global economic inequality, food insecurity and competition for natural resources. These phenomena are interrelated with the legacy or colonialism; world, civil and regional wars; diasporic migration; and terrorism.

Difference and Justice in the World courses will allow students to focus on the social, cultural, political, environmental and economic diversity of human experience within the global/transnational context. Looking beyond singular or dominant understandings of the world, students will engage in the study of peoples outside the U.S., their histories, arts, cultures, politics, economies, environments and religions.

They will address problems such as:

• The ways in which different cultures, societies and social groups define and express themselves and are defined by others.
• How categories of difference are constructed, and how they intersect with one another.
• The production and mediation of social and cultural power in different contexts.
• The unequal effects of globalization and climate change on different cultures and groups in all spheres of human experience, across histories and geographies.

Contemporary U.S. society is marked by demographic and cultural changes that have both advanced and challenged the nation’s commitment to the realization of individuals unalienable rights as human beings.

Scientific, technological, legal, political and aesthetic developments have created significant opportunities throughout the U.S., even as they have also entrenched existing injustices. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Studies in the United States courses prepare students to engage with the dynamics, developments and divisions within U.S. society in the 21st century.

To be productive participants in a society undergoing significant ethnoracial, political, environmental and cultural change, students will need to understand the important role that a commitment to social justice has played in the advancement of the United States. They will also need to address the role that inequality has played in the country’s formation and continues to play in its development. Courses may draw on a variety of disciplinary approaches to address any of the following:

• The critical study of race, class, gender, sex, disability, ethnicity, sexuality, age, color, nationality and religion, with a specific emphasis on historically marginalized populations.
• The close assessment of laws, regulations, procedures, and policies that have enforced or opposed inequity and injustice.
• The analysis of theories that explain, analyze or critique inequality.
• The empirical examination of coalition and community-building, collaboration across difference and other practices aimed at increasing inclusion.

A cornerstone of global citizenship, proficiency in a world language is essential for effective communication, cooperation and collaboration among people of different cultures. The process of learning another language inspires open-mindedness and adaptability, awakens curiosity and creativity, fosters innovative paths of inquiry and discovery, and builds a deeper understanding of oneself and others. 

• communicate orally and/or in writing, as well as interact with texts produced in a language other than English at an Intermediate level, as defined by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages;
• perceive cultural differences in verbal and nonverbal communication;
• recognize distinctive behaviors, values, products and other representations of the culture(s)/societies being studied, and
• understand their own worldview in the context of worldviews of other cultures, including issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Students achieve these goals by successfully completing a third-semester course (normally numbered in the 30s) or demonstrating equivalent proficiency and knowledge acquired prior to Brandeis.

Visit the World Languages and Cultures website