Ethnic Studies
Chair: Rachel Harding
Business Operation Coordinator: Alexandria Joo
Office: Plaza Building, Ste. 102
Telephone: 303-315-7205
Fax: 303-315-7206
Overview
Ethnic Studies programs are designed to help students majoring in the liberal arts and sciences develop a sophisticated and broad understanding of ethnicity and its role in contemporary American society. They provide students with the theories and concepts needed to comprehend and interpret relations between and among ethnic groups in the United States. Students are better prepared to live and work in a diverse society when educational institutions foster a positive learning environment in which differences contained within various U.S. communities can be studied not as a social problem, as is often the case, but for their history of struggles and contributions.
The interdisciplinary nature of the ethnic studies program curriculum provides students the opportunity, through academic investigation, to develop a greater understanding of the cultural diversity of the present-day United States and to acquire skills needed in professional and social service fields. This multidisciplinary, comparative approach to contemporary and historical research methodologies provides the basis for students to analyze the diverse social, economic, political and cultural facets of ethnic groups in the United States. Special emphasis is given to new perspectives that recover the history, creative expression of underrepresented groups.
Programs and courses reflect prevailing thought in ethnic studies, draw parallels between various groups in the United States and link the studies of their country of origin with current and historical research on race and ethnic relations in the United States. They reflect critical analysis of the dominant perspectives through which ethnic groups have been described and perceived. Also investigated are the intersections of ethnicity with structures of political, educational, gender, business and economic, social and cultural power, all of which are emphasized through the study of materials and works by and about previously excluded groups. The cultural processes through which ethnic groups have sustained or altered their cultural identities are emphasized, as well as the pressures faced by members of various ethnic groups to maintain traditional values and conform to mainstream U.S. society.
Ethnic Studies Graduate Certificate
Admission Requirements
- Degree: BA/BS
- A minimum GPA of 3.00 is recommended
Application Process
Applicants for a Graduate Certificate Program will send the following documents to the Certificate Program Director:
- Graduate Certificate Application Form:
- Official Transcripts
- Resume
- Letter of interest
Upon approval of the student’s admission by the Graduate Certificate Program, the program director will send the student’s certificate admission file to Graduate student admissions. Graduate admissions will confirm the applicant’s credentials, will determine whether the student meets the general academic requirements, will admit the student and inform the student of his/her admission to the Graduate Certificate Program.
Faculty
Associate Professors:
Faye Caronan, PhD, University of California, San Diego
Rachel E. Harding, PhD, University of Colorado, Boulder
Associate Professor Clinical Teaching Track
Elizabeth Garcia, PhD, University of California Berkeley
Katherine Mohrman, PhD, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Assistant Professor
Chad Shomura, PhD, Johns Hopkins University
Senior Instructors:
Dennis Green, ABD, University of New Mexico
Emeritus Professors:
Paula Espinoza, PhD, University of Colorado Boulder
Donna Martinez, PhD, University of Washington
Ethnic Studies (ETST) Courses
Emphasizes the acquisition of a variety of data or information collection and analytic skills, especially those applicable to historical and social inquiry in ethnic studies. Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree majors. Cross-listed with ETST 4000. Term offered: fall. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors
Typically Offered: Fall.
In this course, we will consider the social and legal construction of race and immigration. We will also explore how immigrants have been racialized both historically and in the current moment. In addition, we will consider the role of culture in shaping the immigrant experience and immigrant outcomes. Restriction: Graduate standing or instructor permission. Cross-listed with SOCY 4020, ETST 4020 and SOCY 5020. Term offered: spring. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors
With a focus on application of scholarship to practice, this interdisciplinary course will introduce graduate students to scholarly literature from family sciences, sociology, education and related fields to understand Black and Latino children within family, school and community systems. Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree majors (NDGR-NHL and NDGR-NLA). Cross-listed with HDFR 5020. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors
Race/ethnicity and religion are conconstitutive social and cultural formations that have played a fundamental part in determining the boundaries of belonging of the United States. In this course, students will interrogate when, why and how race/ethnicity and religion have been used to delineate borders, determine citizenship, navigate legal classifications, dictate social mobility, and regulate economic possibilities. We will analyze both primary sources ‐such as sermons, reality TV shows, court cases and graphic images‐as well as scholarly writing to explore how formations of race and religion have shaped notions of belonging in the US nation‐state, thereby constructing the boundaries of the state itself. Restriction: Graduate standing or instructor permission required to register. Cross-listed with ETST 4030, RLST 4030, RLST 5030, HIST 4209 and HIST 5029. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors
Typically Offered: Spring.
This course will analyze the impact and effectiveness of cultural diversity awareness in a variety of workplace settings including educational institutions, businesses, health care organizations, and non-profit organizations. Students will learn how implicit biases and structural inequality impact workplace culture, a work place's productivity, and a work place's ability to fulfill their mission. By the end of the course, students will acquire the skills to advocate for and implement inclusive work place policies. Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors. Cross-listed with ETST 4165. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors
What is the transpacific? Though this term is most associated with global trade and economic interests, this course will examine the migratory and cultural precedents for this term. What do other perspectives from Oceania and from pacific rim countries offer us to theorize the meaning of the transpacific(s). How might a social and cultural understanding of the transpacific engage with the political and economic understandings of the transpacific undergirded by trade relations? Note: Recommended that ETST 3297- Social History of Asian Americans be completed first. Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors. Cross-listed with ETST 4297. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors
Typically Offered: Spring.
This course is an overview of women of color feminist theorizing (thinking) and praxis (practice) in the U.S. We will explore these feminisms through the writing, art, and organizing efforts of women and trans, femme, and non-binary people of color with a focus on key themes and concepts including identity, difference, oppression, intersectionality, representation, violence, resistance, empowerment, solidarity, and coalition. Texts for the course highlight key issues in the feminist theorizing and praxis of Black, Latina/x, Chicana/x, Asian (American), Pacific Islander, Indigenous, and Arab (American) women and trans, femme, and non-binary people of color, especially the politics of identity and representation; structural oppressions and violences; and practices of survival, resistance, and activism. Not only will we examine how these feminists have critiqued oppression(s) based on race, class, gender, sexuality, nationality, and religion, (as well as how these systems of domination intersect), but what kinds of approaches, strategies, and changes these thinkers and activists have organized for and promoted. Cross-listed with ETST 4305, WGST 4305 and WGST 5305. Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors. Max hours: 3 Credits
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors
Typically Offered: Spring.
Critical examination of American political life at the intersections of social categories such as race, class, gender, sexuality, disability, and Indigeneity. Exploration of key and marginal thinkers through a variety of texts and genres. Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors. Cross-listed with ETST 4457, PSCI 4457, and PSCI 5457. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors
Topics vary from term to term, based upon interest and availability of instructors in specialized areas. Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors. Repeatable. Max hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Communicating Latina/o/x Cultures centers historical and contemporary vernacular and institutional discourse sand narratives about, by, and for Latina/o/x people and communities. Drawing on theories, methods, and practices to understand the complexities of Latina/o/x cultures and lives, we will investigate how different actors and activists express and experience borders, migration, dispossession, citizenship, colonialism/coloniality, colorism, white supremacy, environmental racism(including anti-Blackness), mono- and multilingualism, self-determination struggles, power, representation, resistance, and mutual support networks for alternative worldmaking. To situate these concepts and concerns, we will explore contexts and places ranging from Colorado to the Caribbean. Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors. Term Typically Offered: Spring. Cross-listed with COMM 4722, COMM 5722, and ETST 4722. Max hours: 3 credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors
Typically Offered: Spring.
Students will engage in original research projects supervised and mentored by faculty. Students must work with faculty prior to registration to develop a proposal for their project and receive permission to take this course. Note: Students must submit a special processing form completely filled out and signed by the student and faculty member, describing the course expectations, assignments and outcomes, to the CLAS Graduate Academic Services Coordinator for approval. Term offered: fall, spring, summer. Repeatable. Max Hours: 6 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 6.
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Designed experiences involving application of specific, relevant concepts and skills in supervised employment situations. Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree majors. Note: Students must have graduate standing and must work with Experiential Learning Center advising to complete a course contract and gain approval. Term offered: fall, spring, summer. Repeatable. Max hours: 9 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 9.
Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors
Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer.
Provides a broad overview of social research methods pertinent to the study of race, ethnicity, gender, and culture. Explores theories concerning "ethnicity and race" as both social construct and constituent feature of people's identities and lived experiences. Ethnic Studies is an interdisciplinary major where students make connections across diverse fields of inquiry; this course provides a structure for integrating an interdisciplinary examination of the intellectual, cultural, and social dimensions of racial and ethnic groups. Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree majors. Cross-listed with ETST 4960. Term offered: spring. Max hours: 3 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Restriction: Restricted to Graduate and Graduate Non-Degree Majors
Typically Offered: Spring.
Independent study in ethnic studies. Department consent required. Note: Students must submit a special processing form completely filled out and signed by the student and faculty member, describing the course expectations, assignments and outcomes, to the CLAS Graduate Academic Services Coordinator for approval. Max hours: 18 Credits.
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Repeatable. Max Credits: 18.
Additional Information: Colorado State University.