Transcript title

Intro to Ethnic Studies

Credits

4

Grading mode

Standard letter grades

Total contact hours

40

Lecture hours

40

Course Description

Introduction to the multidisciplinary field of Ethnic Studies. Explores the ways that ethnicity, race, and racism shape the historical and contemporary experiences of people of color in the United States. Introduces students to a broad range of cultural and political contexts, social problems, and histories to understand how racial formation and ethnic identity constructions emerged through and maintain systems of social inequality, while also providing insight into the various modes of resistance and struggles for a just society.

Course learning outcomes

1. Define the major concepts, theories and methodologies within the field of ethnic studies.
2. Apply critical thinking skills to explore the assumptions underlying the concepts of race and ethnicity.
3. Explain how the concepts of race and ethnicity take shape in the specific historical and social contexts of the United States.
4. Identify and discuss the social and historical positioning of social justice movements.
5. Find and understand the connections between the content in the classroom and the events outside of out it.

Content outline

• Race and ethnicity as social construct (Overview of concepts, theories, and methodology)
• Power and Privilege
• Colonialism and Migration in shaping the US experience
• Social policies and economic realities
• Intersectionality
• Resistance and social justice movements
• Representation and popular culture

Required materials

This course will require a textbook and/or readings.

General education/Related instruction lists

• Social Science
• Cultural Literacy