Grants Available for Course Development for Race, Culture and Power Minor
 
Carie Schelfhaudt, Media Relations Writing Intern

Issues and dynamics of race and class continue to play critical roles in society. Because of the growing interest by undergraduates in the Race, Culture and Power minor, the university is offering grants to faculty interested in developing courses for the minor or revitalizing an existing course.

“Issues of race and class can be matters of life and death, as Hurricane Katrina showed us. There is a growing important scholarship on racialization on which the RCP minor builds. The RCP courses allow all of us to understand how we at UNH, together with people around the world, are affected by processes of racialization,” said Nina Glick Schiller, professor of anthropology and co-coordinator of the minor.

Two grants of $1,500 each, or one grant of $3,000, are available from the department of Race, Culture and Power for development of courses for the minor, or the revitalization of an existing course. Content must cover at least 50 percent teachings of Race, Culture and Power at an intermediate or advanced level. The course should be taught at least once every three years and continuously meet the requirements for the minor.

“By offering more courses on a regular and consistent basis that address RCP in our society, more conscious teaching can change the culture of the university,” said Mimi Winder, administrative assistant.

The race, culture and power minor is an interdisciplinary minor, one of a handful of free-standing minors, including African American Studies and American Studies. Currently, many of the upper-level courses developed in other programs have been incorporated into the minor following a review to ensure they fit well with the goals and objectives of the program.

Faculty members should submit a two to three-page proposal outlining the nature of the course, its significance for the minor, and for the university. A current CV and a letter from the faculty member’s department chair indicating that the department will endorse the teaching of the course at least once every three years are required. Priority will be given to frequently taught courses.

Faculty members also must submit a budget for supplemented money expenditures during the course development. The money may be used to supplement other money for course release, for a research assistant to develop the course, for the purchase of books, and for attendance at relevant conferences that can contribute to course development. The recipient will be expected to submit a course syllabus and receipts for expenditures by the end of the semester.