By Brianna Wallen
News Editor
History classes provide students with the opportunity to delve deep into the past and gain a better understanding of how historical events have shaped the present world.
For this reason, the university offers a range of courses specifically focused on social justice, allowing students to explore key issues like inequality, oppression and the pursuit of equity.
According to the university’s website, the mission statement for social justice classes is:
“As part of Southern’s commitment to social justice, faculty have been considering ways curriculum takes up fostering a deeper understanding of oppression, domination and inequality and prepares students to work towards a society that is diverse, inclusive and equitable.”
With a social justice class catalog of over 35 classes in various departments, students have ample opportunities to explore classes that emphasize the ongoing impact of historical injustices and inequalities.
From ANT: 321 “Indians of North America” to WGS: 435 “Women & Social Movements: Gender and Resistance” there are a number of classes that feature the oppression various minorities face.
However, many students have highlighted that the standard history classes do not encompass various perspectives.
Psychology major Emmanuel Jean, a freshman, is currently taking “U.S History 1877 to Present,” and he said the timeline taught is very restricted.
“I feel like they could go into more depth about it,” Jean said. “There was more stuff that black people went through besides slavery.”
Jean also said that it seems like the information is still the same regurgitated history that he was taught for years.
“Everything was stuff I learned back in middle school and high school,” Jean said. “I feel like it never gets switched up.”
Similarly, nursing major Annetta Gatison, a freshman, said she believes the coverage of slavery is overdone.
“I’m tired of learning the same repeated minority history, like about slavery,” Gatison said. “I didn’t even know about Black Panthers unity junior year of high school.”
Additionally, Gatison said she is interested in taking a course that focuses on other cultures and their history.
“We don’t get to hear about other people of color and what they went through, so these other classes are helpful,” Gatison said.
However, Gatison does believe that history classes should still highlight the history of all minorities, as they contribute to U.S. history overall.
“Other cultures are really underrepresented and I’m tired of learning the same repeated history about only one minority group,” Gatison said.
With students not satisfied in their course content, many have turned to other resources, including social media platforms to learn deeper about history
“I learned 100% more about black history from TikTok than school,” Jean said.
Graduate student of sports and entertainment management, Jahlil Watson, said that he has taken his fair share of history classes at the university.
Watson said that he believes with diversity, equity and inclusion at threat, these social justice classes are more important than ever.
“I feel like Southern does a great job with DEI especially with the time we’re in now,” Watson said.
Watson also emphasizes that with book banning and the erasure of Black history and other minority history in various southern states, he hopes that students will take advantage of his opportunity to learn about their history and others.
“With other colleges and schools like in Florida, they need more emphasis on the real history to really inform students overall,” Watson said.
