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Department of

Ethnic Studies

Major

Preparation for the Major

9 units of lower-division courses:*

ETHN 100D – Introduction to Ethnic Studies (3)
ETHN 110D – Ethnic Identity in the United States (3)

Three units in a lower division elective:

ETHN 120D: Introduction to African American Studies (3)
ETHN 130D: Introduction to American Indian Studies (3)
ETHN 140D: Introduction to Chicano/Latino Studies (3)
ETHN 150 D: Introduction to Asian American Studies (3)
ETHN 294: Special Topics in Ethnic Studies (3)

Major Requirements:

The major is interdisciplinary and requires 30 units of upper-division course work 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 course work. Course work 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 program committee may also be applicable.

The curriculum layout is as follows:

I. Core Courses (6 units)

ETHN 496 – Research Methods (3)
ETHN 497WC – Senior Thesis (3)

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.

ETHN 321C – African American Panethnicity (3)
ETHN 331 – Gender in Native America (3)
ETHN 355- Asian American Social Movements (3)
ETHN 364- Race, Class, and Gender (3)
ETHN 494 Special Topics in Ethnic Studies (3)

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."

ETHN 323 – African American Music and Culture (3)
ETHN 332 – American Indian Health and Spirituality (3)
ETHN 360- Race, Religion and Social Justice (3)
ETHN 362- Ethnicity and Cinema (3)
ETHN 494- Special Topics in Ethnic Studies (3)

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.

ETHN 322 - African American Civil Rights (3)
ETHN 331 – Gender in Native America (3)
ETHN 343 – Chicano/Latino Studies (3)
ETHN 355- Asian American Social Movements (3)
ETHN 361 – Immigration at the U.S.-Mexico Border: Ethnicity, Race and Gender (3)
ETHN 363- Race and U.S. Social Movements (3)
ETHN 494 – Special Topics in Ethnic Studies (3)