In 1992, Rodney King asked his famous question, “Why can't we all just get along?” Asking that question has been much easier than answering it. Through most of human history, in fact, societies have had to get along with diversity and the challenges that accompany it. Some of the greatest accomplishments in human history have resulted from the interaction of different cultures; the same can be said of some of the greatest disasters. “Getting along” with diversity continues to be a major and controversial issue in the United States, even with the election of the first African-American president. How are Americans, in an increasingly diverse world — and within an increasingly diverse country — to define themselves and the society in which they live? Is the current influx of foreign immigrants and cultures into the United States a process that revitalizes the country, or is it a threat to its basic core values?

This course attempts to address some of these issues. The central focus is on how societies have defined their identities and dealt with the challenges of ethnic or cultural diversity, culminating with the experiences of the United States. While any number of cultures might be chosen for comparison, the course this semester will examine four societies, each of which has responded to the challenges of diversity in a different way. It will begin with Japan, historically one of the most ethnically homogeneous communities in the world. It might be said that the Japanese have dealt with diversity by denying it, an option possible to them because of their unique island location. The course will then look at traditional Islam and its dealings with non-Muslims. Rather than imposing religious conformity on everyone, early Muslims granted large populations of non-Muslims under their rule special dhimmi or protected status, leaving them free to live their lives but effectively marginalizing them from mainstream society. The Austro-Hungarian Empire, a state inhabited by eleven major nationalities, is the third society to be examined. The complex mix of nationalities in Austria-Hungary produced a brilliant culture, but its inability to create a common identity led to its disappearance from the European map in 1918. Finally, the course will look at the role of diversity in the development of the United States. While the United States has prided itself on being a “nation of immigrants” tolerant of all groups, it has also seen itself as a “melting pot” in which those groups were expected sooner or later to voluntarily relinquish most of their distinctive features in a common “American” identity. That apparent contradiction may underlie many of the controversies about multiculturalism and ethnicity in the United States today.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES

At the end of the semester, the successful student will be able to: