Ethnic Studies Minor

Students may earn a minor degree in Ethnic Studies, or include Ethnic Studies as part of a Distributed Studies degree. The purpose of courses in Ethnic Studies is to synthesize knowledge representing primarily ethnic minority perspectives. A minor in Ethnic Studies also provides students a forum for exploring the realities of their own experiences and discussing those realities in a systematic, informed and respectful manner. Courses are designed to facilitate this exploration process in a supportive context and empower students to live their own cultures, and view others’ cultures in a new and positive light.

These courses, which are specified in the Bulletin course description as counting toward the Ethnic Studies minor, focus primarily on the experiences and cultural expressions of the four main ethnic minority communities in the United States: African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos/Hispanics. These experiences and cultural expressions include, but are not limited to, economic, political, legal, historical and cultural dimensions of life in the United States. An important goal of the program is to build on the knowledge grounded in the experiences of racial/ethnic groups that have been marginalized and excluded from full participation in society.