Multicultural Program  

Established in 1990, the Multicultural Program is an academic program that is part of the core curriculum of the College of Arts and Sciences. Its purpose is to increase discourse about diversity in the U.S. and the world, and to further the University's mission of embracing all people regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, age, lifestyle, or physical abilities. The Program consists of two academic courses, IDIS 1501-Peoples and Cultures of America I, which focuses on the American mosaic from the earliest Native inhabitants to recent immigrant experiences, and IDIS 1502-Peoples and Cultures of America II, which presents a comparative overview of those foreign cultures that have sent or are sending American immigrants from Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean region. These courses assist students in working within a globalized civilization, and in dealing with the diverse cultures they encounter domestically and internationally in the fields of business, the arts, education, and government service. 

The Program also sponsors the Multicultural Film and Lecture Series, a free service of the Seton Hall Arts Council that is open to the University community and the public. The Series, through its films and presentations, explores diversity issues related to gender, class, race, religion, politics, and ethnicity. The Series offers a wide variety of highly-praised and at times neglected domestic and foreign films each semester. Each screening is followed by lively discussions lead by an expert guest host. Lecturers hosted by the Series have included Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Levering Lewis, author Michael Parenti, radio commentator Ralph Schoenman, author Andrew Hacker, filmmakers Tami Gold, Kelly Anderson, William Miles, and Sam Pollard, and numerous renowned scholars from regional and national colleges and universities, including Krin Gabbard (SUNY-Stony Brook), Ed Guerrero (NYU), William Luhr (St. Peter's College), Paula Massood (Brooklyn College), and many more. For information, call 973-761-9385. 

The Multicultural Program and Multicultural Film and Lecture Series work in conjunction with the Women's Studies program, the Department of Religion, the Martin Luther King Scholarship Association, and other campus organizations in the sponsorship of events and programs designed to combat prejudice and advance social justice and human rights.