Ethnic studies move across traditional academic divisions in order to consider questions of belonging and othering in new ways by bridging academic disciplines and emphasizing holistic critical thinking.
Ethnic studies support commitments to equity and justice through its methods of inquiry. You not only might see yourself more represented in the college curriculum, you might raise new questions about whose stories have been elevated and whose have been silenced. You will interrogate how cultures, communities, and identity categories change, shift, and are constructed. You will encounter new ideas about how identity relates to access and power.
Not only will you be better prepared with practical skills for multiple careers in an ever-changing world, participating in programs that include ethnic studies will transform your existing cultural wealth and knowledge through critical theory.
Important disciplines you may encounter include:
- Black and African American studies
- Indigenous Studies
- Native American Studies
- Latinx and Chicanx Studies
- Asian and Asian American Studies
- Migration and borderlands studies
Areas of exploration include literature, history, cultural studies, sociology, and critical theory. Your work will especially emphasize communities, movements, ideas, words, and power.
| Title | Expertise |
|---|---|
| Balaram, Arita | Psychology, critical race and feminist studies, community-engaged methods |
| Coffey, Kristin | Creative writing, historical fiction, ethnic American literature |
| Crowley, Lin | Media and Chinese studies |
| Grossman, Zoltan | Geography, Native American studies |
| Lal, Prita | Food justice, social movements, race/gender/class inequality, Black studies |
| Proctor, Bradley | U.S. history, African American history, American studies |
| Salazar, Hailey (Hailey Maria) | |
| Williams, Sean | Ethnomusicology |