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 ancestral origins 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.
Students may earn Latin Honors in the following way:
Cum Laude
Students must achieve a GPA of 3.3 in ALL CU Denver courses and a GPA of 3.5 in all ETST course
Magna Cum Laude
Students must achieve a GPA of 3.5 in ALL CU Denver courses and a GPA of 3.7 in all ETST courses
Summa Cum Laude
Students must achieve a GPA of 3.7 in ALL CU Denver courses and a GPA of 3.85 in all ETST courses.
Undergraduate Information
Ethnic Studies Major
Click here for information about the requirements for the Major in Ethnic Studies.
Ethnic Studies Minor
Click here for the requirements for the Minor in Ethnic Studies.
Undergraduate Certificates
Click here for information about the Undergraduate Certificate in American Indian Studies.
Click here for information about the Undergraduate Certificate in African American Studies.
Click here for information about the Undergraduate Certificate in Asian American Pacific Islander Studies.
Click here for information about the Undergraduate Certificate in Cultural Diversity Studies.
*All ETST courses count toward Cultural Diversity Certificate
Click here for information about the Undergraduate Certificate in Latinx Studies.
Faculty
Associate Professors
Faye Caronan, PhD, University of California, San Diego
Rachel E. Harding, PhD, University of Colorado, Boulder
Associate Professors Clinical Teaching Track
Katherine Mohrman, PhD, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Elizabeth Garcia, PhD, University of California Berkeley
Assistant Professor
Chad Shomura, PhD, Johns Hopkins University
Senior Instructor
Dennis Green, ABD, University of New Mexico
Emeritus Professors
Paula Espinoza, PhD, University of Colorado Boulder
Donna Martinez, PhD, University of Washington