Degrees & Programs Ethnic Studies Minor

Analyze racial and ethnic issues and craft creative responses

The interdisciplinary ethnic studies minor provides you with the opportunity to study the cultural, historical, political, religious, and social dimensions of a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The minor will equip you with an interdisciplinary knowledge base and set of skills about race and ethnicity in local, national, and global contexts. This will allow you to understand the ways in which U.S. and global systems of power are rooted in racial and ethnic constructs. The minor will also equip you to grapple with the historical and present relationship of Christianity and the Christian church to both national and global systems. Through your coursework, you will learn to situate issues of racial and ethnic identity, racism, and equity within the context of Christian understandings of human flourishing. A minor in ethnic studies will equip you to lead faithfully in the pluralistic environment that is our contemporary world, and to work for social change that promotes justice and equity.

Requirements for a Minor: 24 units

Required Courses

ETN 010 Introduction to Ethnic Studies (4)
SOC 189 Sociology of Race and Ethnicity (4)

Electives

AN 115 Peoples & Cultures (4)
COM 138 International Rhetoric (4)
ED 105 Perspectives on Cultural Diversity and Education (4)
ENG 130 Early American Literature: Memory, Narrative, and History (4)
ENG 134 Ethnicity and Race in American Literature (4)
ETN 196 Ethnic Studies Research Seminar (4)
HIS 175 Recent America (4)
HIS 178 California History (4)
POL 113 Race and Politics (4)
PSY 132 Cultural Psychology (4)
RS 159 Christian Mission (4)
SOC/AN 135 Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective (4)
TA 140 Race and Gender on the American Stage (4)

May also include ED 100/101 Explorations in Teaching, ENG 060 Writers in Conversation, ENG 143 Topics in Writing, ENG
160 Women Writers, and ENG 165 Topics in World Literature when focusing on race and ethnicity.

No more than 8 units of elective credit may be taken within the same department.

Course Descriptions

ETN 010: Introduction to Ethnic Studies (4)
This course is designed to frame the course work of the minor within an interdisciplinary rubric, one rooted in the literature, theories, and methodologies of Ethnic Studies. The main objectives include learning interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives and research methods, so as to understand the ways in which U.S. and global systems of power are rooted in racial, ethnic, and gender constructs, constructs which intersect with other variables, such as class, disability, and religion. The course will also foreground the historical and present relationship of Christianity and the Christian church to both national and global systems. Students will learn about the value and practical application of this kind of research within academia and for society.

SOC 189: Sociology of Race & Ethnicity (4)
Provides an historical overview of racial and ethnic relations in the United States, with an emphasis on systemic racism in the cultural, economic, and political dimensions of social life. The course includes an analysis of contemporary race relations and of race-related issues and evaluates antiracist strategies and solutions.

ETN 196: Ethnic Studies Research Seminar (4)
This upper-division seminar course is designed to synthesize the course work of the minor through a research capstone project. The main objective is to apply interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives and research methods to a topic of interest within Ethnic Studies. Students will examine how Christian faith and theology intersect with the topic as they apply the interdisciplinary tools of Ethnic Studies to complete a research paper.