Ethnic Studies

Core Faculty
Alberto López Pulido, Ph.D., Director
Leeva Chung, Ph.D.
Michelle M. Jacob, Ph.D.
Jesse Mills, Ph.D.
Gail Perez, Ph.D.

Affiliated Faculty
Roy Brooks, J.D., School of Law
Jericho Brown, Ph.D., English
Bahar Davary, Ph.D., Theology and Religious Studies
Orlando Espin, Ph.D., Theology and Religious Studies
Kay Etheridge, Ph.D., Music
Michelle Madsen Camacho, Ph.D., Sociology
Evelyn Diaz Cruz, M.F.A., Theatre Arts
Esteban del Rio, Ph.D., Communication Studies
Colin Fisher, Ph.D., History
Robert Barry Fleming, M.F.A., Theatre Arts
Carlton Floyd, Ph.D., English
Michael Gonzalez, Ph.D., History
Michael Ichiyama, Ph.D., Psychology
Joseph Jonghyun Jeon, Ph.D., English
Evelyn Kirkley, Ph.D., Theology and Religious Studies
Judith Liu, Ph.D., Sociology
Belinda Lum, Ph.D. Sociology
Alejandro Meter, Ph.D., Languages and Literatures
A. Rafik Mohamed, Ph.D., Sociology
Alma Ortega, M.L.I.S., M.A., Copley Library
Atreyee Phukan, Ph.D., English
Reyes Quezada, Ed.D., School of Leadership and Education Sciences
Thomas E. Reifer, Ph.D., Sociology
Sandra Sgoutas-Emch, Ph.D., Psychology
David Shirk, Ph.D., Political Science
Mark Woods, Ph.D. Philosophy
Sally Yard, Ph.D., Art

The Ethnic Studies Major

Ethnic studies is a vibrant, interdisciplinary program that allows students to study the historical, cultural, and social dynamics of race and ethnicity in the United States. The major addresses our shared national legacy of conquest, contact, and resistance through three areas of concentration: History and Identity, Creativity and Spirituality, and Institutions and Activism.

Our core courses thoroughly ground students in theoretical perspectives related to these three themes. Within these broad categories, students are encouraged to develop their own areas of expertise, as they explore local and national communities of color. Through community service learning and internships, students are challenged to engage with issues of privilege, difference, inequality, social justice, and empowerment in an applied manner. Ethnic Studies is uniquely situated to provide students with cross-cultural competence, with an historical grounding in domestic social justice issues, and with conflict resolution skills–all essential to civic life in an increasingly diverse nation and world. Our majors are well prepared for careers in law, education, business, social work, counseling, public health, politics, and graduate study in ethnic studies.

Preparation for the Major

9 units of lower-division courses:
ETHN 100D Introduction to Ethnic Studies / 3 units
ETHN 110D Ethnic Identity in the United States / 3 units

Three units in a lower division elective:

ETHN 120 Introduction to African-American Studies / 3 units
ETHN 130 Introduction to American Indian Studies / 3 units
ETHN 140 Introduction to Chicano/Latino Studies / 3 units
ENGL 224 Studies in Literary Traditions (approved by advisor) / 3 units
ENGL 225 Studies in U.S. Literature (approved by advisor) / 3 units
ETHN 294 Special Topics in Ethnic Studies / 3 units
Hist 125D Race and Ethnicity in the American Experience / 3 units
MUSC 102D Introduction to Jazz / 3 units
THEA 111D Theatre and Society / 3 units

Major Requirements

The major is interdisciplinary and requires 30 units of upper-division coursework to be distributed among the two core courses and the three areas of concentration:

A. History and Identity
B. Creativity and Spirituality
C. Institutions and Activism

There are 6 units of core classes that every student must take, the first of which, ETHN 300, should be completed at the beginning of upper-division coursework. Coursework will culminate in the capstone course, ETHN 497C, a community-based research seminar. Students are required to take at least one course in each of the three areas of concentration and must complete at least 15 total units in one of the designated areas. Areas of concentration are designed to emphasize a thematic and comparative ethnic group focus. The area of concentration will be elected by the student with guidance from an advisor. Students are required to take at least 9 total units from the two remaining areas of concentration. In addition to the capstone course, at least one course must be a “C” or community service-learning course. Additional courses generated each semester by the curriculum program committee may also be applicable.

The curriculum layout is as follows:

I. Core Courses (6 units)

ETHN 300 Research and Critical Perspectives in Ethnic Studies / 3 units
ETHN 497C Advanced Ethnic Studies / 3 units

II. Core Areas of Concentration

A. History and Identity: The social construction and historical roots of identity formation ensure that the “personal” is always political and cultural. Courses in this area examine ethnic histories, ethnic identities, and the social processes through which we come to know things about ourselves and others.

ANTH 320D North American Indian Cultures / 3 units
ANTH 321D California and Great Basin Indian Cultures / 3 units
ANTH 323D Southwest Indian Cultures / 3 units
COMM 475 Intercultural Communication / 3 units
ENGL 358 U.S. Ethnic Literature / 3 units
ENGL 364 Postcolonial Studies / 3 units
ETHN 321C African American Panethnicity / 3 units
ETHN 331 Gender in Native America / 3 units
ETHN 343 Chicano/Latino Studies / 3 units
ETHN 494 Special Topics in Ethnic Studies / 3 units
HIST 380 History of the American West / 3 units
HIST 381 American Indian History / 3 units
HIST 383 Chicano History / 3 units
HIST 389 History of California / 3 units
PSYC 324 Cross-Cultural Psychology / 3 units
PSYC 328 Stereotyping, Prejudice, and Discrimination / 3 units
SPAN 303D Introduction to Hispanic Literature / 3 units

B. Creativity and Spirituality: The creative works of people of color, both sacred and worldly, serve as alternative registers of our shared narratives and experiences. Courses in this area examine art and faith communities as well as the creation, interpretation, and reception of cultural “texts.”

ARTH 356 Race, Ethnicity, Art, and Film / 3 units
COMM 432 Film and Cultural Politics / 3 units
ETHN 323 African American Music and Culture / 3 units
ETHN 360 Race, Religion and Social Justice / 3 units
ETHN 362 Ethnicity and Cinema / 3 units
ETHN 494 Special Topics in Ethnic Studies / 3 units
MUSC 444D The Bebop Era / 3 units
THEA 375C Theatre and Community / 3 units
THRS 312 Hindu Faith and Practice (approved by advisor) / 3 units
THRS 313 Jewish Faith and Practice (approved by advisor) / 3 units
THRS 314 Buddhist Faith and Practice (approved by advisor) / 3 units
THRS 315 Islamic Faith and Practice (approved by advisor) / 3 units
THRS 320 Native American Religious Traditions / 3 units
THRS 321 Afro-Latin Religions / 3 units
THRS 358 U.S. Latino/a Catholicism / 3 units
THRS 368 U.S. Latino/a and Latin American Theologies / 3 units

C. Institutions and Activism: The ongoing effects of past discrimination structure state policies and practices ensuring that racialization, social movements, and activism cycle and re-cycle in the ongoing pursuit of social justice.  Courses in this area emphasize analysis of social structures in terms of how they manifest “the dominant” and the counter narrative that arise through social activism.

ARTH 338 City and Utopia: Introduction to History of Urbanism / 3 units
EDUC 381C Multicultural and Philosophical Foundations of Education / 3 units
ETHN 343 Chicano/Latino Studies / 3 units
ETHN 321C African American Panethnicity / 3 units
ETHN 322 African American Civil Rights / 3 units
ETHN 331 Gender in Native America / 3 units
ETHN 361 Immigration at the U.S.-Mexico Border: Ethnicity, Race and Gender / 3
units
ETHN 494 Special Topics in Ethnic Studies / 3 units
HIST 370 American Environmental History / 3 units
PHIL 344 Environmental Justice / 3 units
POLS 316D Sex, Power, and Politics / 3 units
POLS 374 U.S. Latin-American Relations / 3 units
PSYC 359 Health Psychology of Women and Ethnic Groups / 3 units
SOCI 331 Race and Ethnic Relations / 3 units
SOCI 356 Crime as Entertainment: Film, Television, and Reality / 3 units
SOCI 359 Gender through the Prism of Difference /3 units
SOCI 364 Work and Labor / 3 units
SOCI 375 The U.S. Mosaic / 3 units
SOCI 388 Sports and the Social Context / 3 units
SOCI 420 Black Eyes on America / 3 units
SOCI 425 The Black Atlantic / 3 units
SOCI 460 Immigrant America / 3 units
SOCI 464C Community, Consensus, and Commitment /3 units
SOCI 472 Law and Society / 3 units
SOCI 473 Rights, Justice, Law and Inequality / 3 units
SOCI 494 Special Topics in Contemporary Sociology approved by advisor / 3 units

The Ethnic Studies Minor

The ethnic studies minor is an 18 unit program, consisting of 6 lower-division units and 12 upper-division units, including the following:

1. ETHN 100D – Introduction to Ethnic Studies / 3 units
2. ETHN 110D – Ethnic Identity in the United States / 3 units
3. Students must take a total of 12 units of elective coursework. Students must take at least one course from each concentration and an additional course from the concentration of their choice. One course must be a “C” community-based or community service-learning course.

Ethnic Studies Courses (ETHN)

100D Introduction to Ethnic Studies / 3 UNITS
An interdisciplinary course that uses a comparative and historical perspective to examine the languages, family structures, spiritual traditions, economic and social issues, political aspirations, and values of diverse groups within the United States. Emphasis will be on African-Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Chicanos/Latinos, and Native Americans, but other groups are also discussed. (cross listed as SOCI 100D)

110D Ethnic Identity in the United States / 3 UNITS
This course focuses on the development, transformation, and maintenance of ethnic/racial identity. Students will learn a variety of methodologies in order to understand the social construction of identity as it is created, contested, and altered by historical and economic processes.

120 Introduction to African-American Studies / 3 UNITS
A survey course on the interdisciplinary field of African-American Studies. Students will learn basics of African-American history and culture in order to understand contemporary problems and conditions facing African-Americans

130 Introduction to American Indian Studies / 3 UNITS
This course introduces students to the field of American Indian Studies. Students engage scholarly work, film, popular press texts, and attend community events to learn about American Indian people and the current and historical forces that shape modern-day realities for American Indians.

140 Introduction to Chicano/Latino Studies / 3 UNITS
This course is an introductory survey of the field of Chicano/Latino Studies. Emphasis is placed on the historical development of the Chicano/Latino people including their Mesoamerican roots, cultural identification, political activities, and their contemporary roles and influence in United States culture, society and economy

294 Special Topics in Ethnic Studies / 3 UNITS
An in-depth analysis of selected contemporary and special topics in ethnic studies at the lower division with specific course content to be determined by particular interest and expertise of instructor and students. May be repeated for credit with different course content. (Offered on demand)

300 Research and Critical Perspectives in Ethnic Studies / 3 UNITS
A research course that covers both theoretical and methodological perspectives in ethnic studies. The course will focus on the application of theory to research design with an emphasis on the construction of a research proposal, how to structure a research argument, and data analysis.

321C African American Panethnicity / 3 UNITS
Panethnicity in the United States is the process in which people from varying cultural backgrounds and diverse ethnicities come to occupy larger-scale group identities based on racial classification. African-American communities and identities have historically been panethnic, comprised of individuals from various ethnic groups and migration histories complete with different languages, traditions, religions, and cultures. This course examines the intra-racial dynamics of African-American panethnic communities and identities in theoretical, historical, and community-based terms. Special emphasis will be given to engagement with community members around USD through guest speakers and involvement in community events.

322 African American Civil Rights / 3 UNITS
This course examines African-American perspectives on civil rights in the United States foregrounding local, national, and international American cultural politics, race dynamics, and power. Utilizing interdisciplinary approaches of literature, political science, sociology, and history, we will survey the twentieth century Golden Age of civil rights and examine the state of African-American social justice activism today.

323 African American Music and Culture / 3 UNITS
This course provides a historically grounded investigation of African-American music and culture with specific emphasis on the United States and African Diaspora in the Americas. Topics of study may include an overview of the study of African-American music; problems in defining, theorizing, and talking about black music; black music and the cultural politics of race, class, and gender; and exploration of the various musical genres and styles (i.e. spirituals, gospel, blues, “art” music, jazz, and hip hop) that impact other aspects of African-American expressive culture — art, religion/spirituality, aesthetics, and worldview.

331 Gender in Native America / 3 UNITS
This course examines gender as a social institution and its implications at both the micro (personal) and macro (societal) levels.  Social, political, and historical implications for the intersections of racialized, classed, and gendered identities will be critiqued.  Special attention will be paid to gender and traditional indigenous cultures and how gender relations and formations change within a colonial (historic and contemporary) U.S. context.

343 Chicano/Latino Studies / 3 UNITS
This is a survey course of the Chicano/Latino experience(s) in the United States. It examines how racial and ethnic identity is shaped by historical, political, economic, cultural, sacred, and linguistic dimensions that inform cultures and communities.

360 Race, Religion and Social Justice / 3 UNITS
This course examines the relationship between issues of social justice, race, and the role of religion (the sacred) in guiding us toward a more just and humane society.

361 Immigration at the U.S.-Mexico Border: Ethnicity, Race and Gender / 3 UNITS
In this course we will look at the United States-Mexico border as a scenario for emerging and contested ethnic, racial and gender identities. Drawing on the experiences of the distinct ethnic and racial groups that came to inhabit the area -- namely Native Americans, Spaniards, Mexicans, Anglo Americans, African-Americans and Asians.

362 Ethnicity and Cinema / 3 UNITS
This course uses a comparative, analytical, and critical approach to the study of ethnicity and to the relationship between cinematic representations and the experiences of racialized communities. The course includes examination of multiple dimensions of media stereotypes, film history and theory, and the ways filmmakers of various ethnic and national backgrounds respond to and through mainstream cinemas. Students to engage in film analysis that is informed by an understanding of the politics of representation and the historically situated conditions of cinematic production.

494 Special Topics in Ethnic Studies / 3 UNITS
An in-depth analysis of selected contemporary and special topics in ethnic studies, with specific course content to be determined by particular interest and expertise of instructor and students. May be repeated for credit with different course content. (Offered on demand)

497C Advanced Ethnic Studies / 3 UNITS
A seminar devoted to advanced study in the field. Students will conduct community-based research, applying theoretical perspectives to experiences with various local groups, organizations, collectives, or neighborhoods. The course is equivalent to a senior thesis project.

499 Independent Study / 1-3 UNITS
Individual study and written research. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor and program director.