Criteria

Units that want to put forth courses for this requirement will need to develop evidence of addressing the following criteria through a lens of analysis and application specific to the United States:

• The social construction of race and racism, along with their origin, evolution, and maintenance (i.e., political, social, and cultural invention)
• Key theoretical concepts about race and racism
• The operation of interdependent types and levels of racism (i.e., individual, interpersonal, intergroup, institutional, structural, and systemic)
• The historical and current structures of racialized power and privilege, including whiteness
• Social institutions, policies, and practices that contribute to and enable racism
• Approaches and strategies to disrupt and dismantle systemic racism as well as ways to engender and institutionalize equitable alternatives

Please note: All of the above criteria must be addressed.

Submit a course for the racial literacy requirement »

(For your planning purposes, you may preview the above form as a PDF. Please note: This preview version is informational only. All proposals must be submitted via the online form button above.)

For courses to be considered for designation as a general education course in the Fall 2024 Bulletin, submissions must be received by the GECC no later than September 15, 2023.

Proposals for courses will be reviewed by the GECC Racial Literacy subcommittee, made up of VCU faculty members with appropriate expertise. Selected proposals will then progress through VCU’s regular curriculum approval process.

Units planning to submit courses for the racial requirement should reach out to the GECC Chair via gened@vcu.edu for more info.