Being Majoring Or Minoring Into Integrated Educational...

While I may not be majoring or minoring in Integrated Educational Studies at Chapman University, I consider the subject matter taught in IES courses to be both very interesting and incredibly important on both societal and personal levels. For these reasons, I am currently enrolled in IES-300: Valuing Difference in American Society during the 2016 Summer Semester. This is the second Integrated Educational Studies course I have taken at Chapman—I was enrolled in IES-102: Social Constructions of Difference during the 2015 Summer Session—and as Summer Session I approaches its halfway point, I can say that the subject matter taught in Valuing Difference in American Society manages to be just as informative and thought provoking for me. Much of the class seems to be primarily discussion-based, and the emphasis on talking with my fellow classmates about subjects such as racism, white privilege, sexism, homophobia, and other social issues helps create a very productive enviro nment in which these topics can be discussed openly and with maturity and respect. The method of having students talk to other, individual classmates before the class as a whole reconvenes for discussion allows me to express and refine my thoughts about the readings, assignments and activities from class while also getting to know more about other students on a more personal level. I believe this has been invaluable in helping me learn because it establishes a sense of trust amongst students and creates a