Department Chair
Rosamel Benavides-Garb, Ph.D.
Program Director
Barbara Brinson Curiel, Ph.D.
Department of World Languages & Cultures
Behavioral & Social Sciences 206
(707) 826-3226, fax 826-3227
www.humboldt.edu/~wlc
Ethnic Studies uses interdisciplinary and cross-cultural comparative methods to provide diverse perspectives that challenge monolithic thinking about the formation of identities and societies. It reveals silenced and marginalized voices from different frames of cultural reference and helps students recognize how some voices seem silenced while others seem amplified in local, national, and global contexts. This program specifically explores and compares the experiences of American ethnic groups (such as African Americans, Latinos/as, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Euro-Americans) at the local and national level. At the same time it pushes students to think globally and reach beyond American borders. It prepares students to better understand the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, nationality, and religion in the experiences of all groups and individuals, including those with privilege and power. Ethnic Studies creates a complex, self-reflexive, inclusive, and interactive model for critical thinking and social change. By developing students’ awareness of human interconnection, social inequality, and cultural diversity, Ethnic Studies promotes human interactions for social justice in the 21st century.
High school students should take American ethnic literature, social studies, and history.
The major is designed around a 12-unit core of comparative courses, 9-10 units of Core Electives, and 2 units of Service Learning Courses. Students also complete 15-20 units of an Interdisciplinary Concentration in one of three topic areas: Multicultural Arts, Literature and Language; Multicultural Histories; or Society and Justice. There are 38-44 total units in the major.
Core Courses (required for all majors):
LOWER DIVISION (6 units)
ES 105/NAS 105 Introduction to US Ethnic Studies
ES 108/WS 108 Power/Privilege: Gender & Race, Sex, Class
UPPER DIVISION (6 units)
ES 308 Multicultural Perspectives in American Society
ES 390 Theory & Methods in Ethnic Studies
CORE ELECTIVES (required)
One course from each of the following three areas:
History and Culture
ES 110 Introduction
to African-American Studies
ES 314 Chicano Culture & Society in America
ES 326 Minorities & the Media
ES 336/ENGL 336 American Ethnic Literature
ES 353 Asian American Studies
Social Justice Movements
ES 325 From
Civil Rights to Black Power
ES 330/WS 330 Ethnic
Women in America
ES 360/WS 360 Race,
Gender and U.S. Law
Transnational Issues in Ethnic Studies
ES 304/GEOG
304 Migrations & Mosaics.
ES 310 US & Mexico
Border
ES 480/ANTH
306 Asian Diaspora & Globalization
Service Learning Requirement
In consultation with an advisor, complete two units of service learning or internship courses in any department. Ethnic Studies course that satisfies this requirement:
ES 420 Community Research
Interdisciplinary Concentration
Five courses (15-20 units) in a coherent sequence or theme approved by the major
advisor. Four courses (12-16 units) should be taken in one of the following focus
areas, and one course (3-4 units) should be taken in a different concentration
area. These five courses should be taken in at least three different departments.
Courses not listed may be applied with advisor approval. Courses taken to satisfy
the Core Elective requirement cannot also be counted toward the concentration.
Concentration Areas:
Multicultural Arts, Literature & Language
ART 301 The
Artist: Mexican Muralists in Mexico & the US, or
ART 316 Topics
in Early 20th Century Art: Mexican Muralists in Mexico & the
US
ES 336/ENGL 336 American
Ethnic Literature
ES 480 Poetry
for Social Change
ES 480 Hip
Hop and the Black Experience
ENGL 465 Multicultural
Issues in Literature/Languages (Prerequisite: ENGL
320)
FREN 300 African
Storytelling
MUS 302 Music
in World Culture
MUS 305 Jazz:
An American Art Form
PE 193 Mexican
Folklorico Dance
TFD 307 Theatre
of the Oppressed
Multicultural Histories
ES 110 Introduction
to African American Studies
ES 310 US & Mexico Border
ES 314 Chicano
Culture & Society in America
ES 320 African
American History
ES 327 Afro-American
Religion
ES 328 African
Religion & Philosophy
ES 340 Chinese & Japanese Americans
ES 343 Japanese
Americans & the Concentration Camps
ES 480 500
Years of Chicano History
GEOG 340 Geography
of the Pacific Basin
HIST 305 The
American West, 1763-1900
HIST 383 California
History
Society and Justice
ES 313/EDUC 313/WS 313 Education
for Action
ES 322 African
American Family
ES 323 Patterns
of Pan-Africanism
ES 325 From
Civil Rights to Black Power
ES 341 The
Asian American Family & Intermarriage
ES 352 Dynamics
of Black Culture
ES 353 Asian
American Studies
ES 354 Minorities,
American Institutions, & Social Services
ES 360/WS 360 Race,
Gender and U.S. Law
ES 480/PSCI 340 Ethnicity & Nationalism
ES 482 Topical
Research in Majority/ Minority Relations
PSYC 302 Psychology
of Prejudice
SOC 303 Race & Ethnic Relations
SOC 305 Sociology
of the Modern World-System
SOC 308 Sociology
of Altruism & Compassion
SOC 315 Social
Class
SOC 319 Ecology
of Family Violence
SOC 363 Environmental
Crime
SOC 420 Social
Change
WS 311 Feminist
Theory and Practice
WS 319 Ecology of Family Violence
WS 370 Queer
Women’s Lives
Senior Portfolio
Interdisciplinary Studies majors in Ethnic Studies submit a final portfolio comprised
of representative essays from major courses, including:
• One essay written in one of the Core courses of the major
• One essay from a Core Elective Course
• One research paper which engages theory and methodology in Ethnic Studies
• One short essay that assesses the student’s internship or community service.
• The student’s own reflective 3-4 page essay which examines the submissions to the portfolio, addressing the student’s growth and development as s/he completed the major.
Students must take 15 units of approved courses in ethnic studies, including
ES 105, Introduction to US Ethnic Studies. Six of the 15 units must be upper
division. The program director must approve the program of study before completion
of the first nine units.