Perspectives (PERS)

The Perspectives designation was proposed by students who wanted to affirm the importance of developing awareness, skills, and knowledge of others’ perspectives. Many departments and programs offer opportunities for development in this area. The faculty have approved a set of learning outcomes to distinguish courses that meet the Perspectives objectives.

In the following approved courses, students do all of the following:

• demonstrate acquired knowledge of underrepresented and/or non-Western viewpoints or analytical lenses;
• recognize how identities, such as gender, sex, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, and/or class, may intersect and uniquely influence the issues covered in the course; and
• gain a critical understanding of the connections between such identities and systemic inequities, locally, regionally, and/or (inter)nationally.

Approved Perspectives courses (permanent designation):

EALL 493 - Honors Thesis  
HIST 276 - History of South Africa  
HIST 277 - Speaking and Being Zulu in South Africa  
HIST 279 - Africa in the Western Imagination  
HIST 378 - African Feminisms  
HIST 379 - Queering Colonialism  
JAPN 100 - Supervised Study Abroad: Beginning Japanese  
JAPN 115 - Supervised Study Abroad: First-Year Japanese  
JAPN 265 - Supervised Study Abroad: Second-Year Japanese  
JAPN 365 - Supervised Study Abroad: Third-Year Japanese  
PHIL 242 - Social Inequality and Fair Opportunity  (WGSS 242)
PHIL 244 - Feminist Social and Political Philosophy  (WGSS 244)
PHIL 246 - Philosophy of Sex  (WGSS 246)
PHIL 254 - Philosophy of the Family: Beyond Tradition  (WGSS 254)
SOAN 101 - Introduction to Anthropology: Investigating Humanity  
SOAN 205 - Power and Status: An Introduction to Social Influence  
SOAN 240 - Food, Culture, and Society  
SOAN 250 - Revolutions and Revolutionaries  
SOAN 263 - Poverty and Marginality in the Americas  
SOAN 266 - Neighborhoods, Culture, and Poverty  
SOAN 268 - Migration, Identity, and Conflict  (POL 268)
SOAN 278 - Health and Inequality: An Introduction to Medical Sociology  
SOAN 288 - Childhood  

Approved Perspectives courses (flexible designation (by section or topic)):

SOAN 102 - Introduction to Sociology: Investigating Society 
SOAN 290 - Special Topics in Sociology  : Belonging in College (Spring, 2019)