Over past decades, the demographics of the United States have changed markedly. The proportions of married and single people are changing; so too are the nature and functions of marriage and the family. However, people who are single, and perspectives not based on conventional marriage, remain underrepresented or misrepresented in scholarship and…

Students from Colgate University's India Study Group visit South India every two years to study music, dance, languages, yoga, and philosophy. The Americans take a few days to adjust to the culture shock, and face a challenging workload through the semester, with an intensive program that immerses them completely in South Indian culture and…

Many Asian-American studies programs have emerged on college campuses recently, due largely to high Asian-American enrollment and student pressure. The field originated in the 1960s, and has broadened to incorporate many ethnic groups. Courses may be either broad-based, comparing ethnic or immigrant groups, or narrowly focused on specific themes.…

A growing number of institutions, prompted by pressures from minority groups, racial tension on campuses, and concerns that students are leaving college unprepared to live in an ethnically diverse nation, are requiring students to take courses that explore issues relating to race. Hurdles facing these requirements are discussed. (MLW)

Roughly 20 years after Black studies and other ethnic studies fields evolved from campus protest, new questions are arising about the role of separate ethnic studies departments in face of the movement toward multiculturalism in the college curriculum. Very real economic realities underlie the academic and social concerns. (MSE)

Scholarly interest in Jewish studies, discouraged during Communist rule, is experiencing a renaissance in Poland. However, because the Jewish community is largely gone from Poland, much of the research must be conducted outside the country. It is felt that earlier censorship has stimulated interest in Jewish studies. Polish scholars feel their…

As scholars explore the way factors like race, class, gender, sexual preference, and geographic location alter Chicano identity, they are being forced to modify reigning interpretations of Chicano history and culture. Feminists were first to challenge existing perceptions, and their interdisciplinary perspective strengthened the force of their…

In March, after two years of debate that followed complaints by minority students, Stanford's faculty voted to replace the university's year-long Western culture requirement with a new requirement called "Cultures, Ideas and Values." Courses will be required to give attention to the issues of race, gender, and class. (MLW)

Curriculum reform in higher education is focusing on enhancement of undergraduate education in a variety of ways, including multicultural education, specialized courses for freshmen and seniors, improved calculus instruction, and development of thinking and writing skills. Strengthened general education requirements are a major target in many…