Colleges and universities already offer a ton of courses in this area, it’s inescapable. Was this really necessary?
MLive reports:
2 University of Michigan students help create nation’s first social class and inequality minorMeaghan Wheat admits initial talks between herself and fellow University of Michigan student Lauren Schandevel about creating an entire department at the university were a bit ridiculous.More than two-and-a-half years later, the duo will have to settle for a more modest, but no less significant accomplishment – the creation of the nation’s first higher education minor focused on social class and inequality.The two UM College of Literature, Science and the Arts seniors were instrumental in creating the minor, which recently was passed through the LSA’s executive committee. It will be offered to students this fall, housed in UM’s Women’s Studies department.The minor will explore the intersections of class with race, gender and other dimensions of social structure.“In America, we tend not to talk about social class – we attribute wealth to personal merit and poverty to personal deficits,” Schandevel said. “But I grew up watching my parents – the hardest working people I know – struggle to make ends meet, so that narrative just didn’t add up for me. As a working-class student, learning about social class over the course of my college career has been paramount in shaping my identity and my understanding of the world.”
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