People are often confused by what human relations is. Human Relations is the study of how we are different and how to honor that. Students educate ourselves so that we may then educate others. “No one is free until we all are free; And first we must free our own brains” -Henderson. Human Relations is a major at the University of Oklahoma focusing on “training graduates to be agents of social change” (ou). We study people and how they interact with others unlike themselves. Human relations focus on human need, sociological theory, human rights and injustices, organizational development, professional teamwork, and conflict resolution. As it is easy to see human relations is a multi-disciplinary degree. It looks into these topics within a “human relations” lens. Human relations focus on the “five isms”. All of these aspects ensure that graduates are agents of social change.
The five “isms” are a main focus of the study. They are classism, ageism, ableism, sexism, and racism. These “isms” are theories that better help us understand others. The study of these theories helps teach us how to communicate respectfully and be advocates. They help teach us to better protect both the rights of companies and individuals. The first “ism” classism is prejudice against or in favor of people belonging to a particular social class. Ageism is prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person’s age. While ableism is discrimination in favor of able-bodied people. Although it can often take many different forms, such as treating those disabled differently. Sexism is prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex. Here there a lot of different parts at play such as heterosexism and cisgenderism. And racism is prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized.
It is important to understand these five isms as they affect almost any individual’s daily life. These are not only important for someone’s personal life but also for their professional life. Everyone deserves to work in a safe place where they are free of discrimination of any kind. It is important for companies to provide these safe workspaces. Human relations helps do this.