The university’s major and minor options were plentiful, and gave students many opportunities to pick their major of choice. Last year, Sonoma State University encountered issues with funds and eliminated many majors, minors, and courses to align with the cuts and stay within budget.
This decision impacted many science and arts majors/minors. Some of the departments that housed many of these majors and minors that were included in this cut were Art History, Economics, Geology, Philosophy, Theater/Dance, and Women and Gender Studies. The College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts has released a new minor program available to students this semester – The Human Rights Study Minor.
The Human Rights Study minor is a brand-new program as of this semester. It is being promoted to students in classes “such as POLS 250 (Genocide and Atrocity Prevention) and POLS 307 (Holocaust and Genocide Lecture Series), which are required courses for the minor, as well as other human rights-related courses,” said Cynthia Boaz, a professor in the department of political science at SSU.
Since Sonoma State reduced many courses and majors last year, students are now uncertain of which academic programs remain available, and how long they will be offered for students to enroll in.
“We expect that student interest in the minor will be large, and thus it will be a permanent addition to the offerings at SSU,” said Stephen Bittner, a history professor at SSU. “The minor can be completed in as few as 15 units (3 required 3-unit courses, 2 3-unit electives); however, we imagine that most students will finish the minor in 17 units (3 required 3-unit courses, 2 4-unit electives).” The new minor is built on top of existing resources and will benefit many humanities majors as it provides them with more courses to choose from.
When asking Boaz what careers this minor will be able to benefit from, she noted that “the minor is designed to work alongside majors from across the university including Political Science, History, Sociology, CCJS, Hutchins, and others that were cut last semester like Economics, Women and Gender Studies, and Philosophy”. And it would work well with careers such as “international organizations and non-profits related to human rights and social justice, law, public policy, social work, journalism, and grad programs in any of the above, as well as peace, conflict, and development studies.”
This program is administered by the Department of History and Politics and has been advertised in their course classes. When asking Boaz for information that she wants students to know about, she said, “This minor will complement most majors, even those not in the social sciences or humanities … because it’s very relevant to real life and current events. It will help students identify and learn how to fight back against human rights abuses and atrocities. It deals with difficult and painful subject matter, but is also designed to be both very interdisciplinary and empowering.”
As Sonoma State starts to offer students more academic opportunities for their major, the Human Rights Study minor is a step forward for Sonoma State, providing ways to grow and expand academic opportunities.
