Mandated multiculturalism: An analysis of core curricula at tribal and historically black colleges

Abstract

Multicultural content has become increasingly widespread in the core curriculum at colleges and universities in the United States. This article examines whether multicultural requirements are more prevalent at minority-serving colleges (i.e., tribal and historically black colleges) than at “mainstream” institutions without a minority-serving charter. It examines the prevalence of two kinds of multicultural content: pluralistic content that canvasses multiple minority groups or cultures, and particularistic perspectives that focus on only one group (in this case, African Americans or American Indians). Multivariate analyses indicate that tribal, black, and mainstream colleges do not differ with respect to pluralistic requirements in the core curriculum, but that particularistic requirements are more extensive at black colleges and especially at tribal colleges.