I. Regulations
Davis Division Regulation 522 sets forth the Baccalaureate Degree Requirement in General Education. Civic and Cultural Literacy, a component of Core Literacies (522.C), includes the requirement for at least 3 units of coursework in domestic diversity (522.C.2).
Regulation 523 sets forth the Criteria for General Education Certification of courses, stating “A course in Domestic Diversity provides an understanding of issues such as race, ethnicity, social class, gender, sexuality, and religion within the United States, and develops the student’s ability to think critically about diverse socio-cultural perspectives.” (523.C.5)
II. Interpretation
The objective of Domestic Diversity Literacy is to prepare students for thoughtful, active participation in civic society. Students will learn to think analytically about American institutions and social relations, and understand the diversity of American cultures.
Courses that meet the Domestic Diversity literacy must provide students with an understanding and appreciation of the social and cultural diversity of the United States, the relationships between these diverse cultures, and larger patterns of national history and institutions.
Minimum Elements Checklist
Courses in the Domestic Diversity Literacy must:
ME1) Require students to
- critically examine the structures from which cultures in the United States emerge with an emphasis on diverse socio-cultural perspectives on these issues.
-OR- - think analytically about the nature of patterned differences that characterize human populations, such as gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, or social class, as determinants of issues pertinent to the United States.
In justifying ME1, describe how the course presents opportunities for students to critically examine the structure from which cultures emerge in the United States or think analytically about the nature of patterned difference that characterize human populations as determinant of pertinent issues to the United States.
ME2) Assess students for competency in the Domestic Diversity literacy.
In justifying ME2, describe how course assignments allow students to demonstrate competency in the Domestic Diversity literacy. Provide specific examples of how student competency in the Domestic Diversity literacy is assessed.
ME3) Ensure that understanding issues such as race, ethnicity, social class, gender, sexuality, and religion within the United States, and developing the ability to think critically about diverse socio-cultural perspectives are learning objectives throughout the course.
In justifying ME3, describe how students develop literacy in Domestic Diversity throughout the course and how this literacy is addressed across student learning objectives of the course.
III. ICMS Submission Requirements
The Committee on Courses of Instruction (COCI) evaluates whether the course proposal satisfies the minimum elements checklist above. COCI uses the information provided in the answers to the General Education literacy justification questions and the Expanded Course Description. Departments requesting that a course be approved for this GE literacy must answer the literacy questions in the Integrated Curriculum Management System (ICMS). Where applicable, the italicized notes below the Minimum Elements above may help guide course proposers in drafting responses in ICMS.
Last revised and approved by Undergraduate Council
June 5, 2026