Ethnic Studies Course Descriptions

Introducing interdisciplinary approaches to the study of race and ethnicity in mostly U.S. history and contemporary social issues. Topics including the emergence of ethnic studies as an interdisciplianary field; racial and ethnic formations in relation to colonization, slavery and migration; immigration; and resistance and social movements. Students learn through lecture/discussion with papers, presentations and exams.

The history of Africa from the end of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to the present. We will discuss the effects of abolition on Africa, the nature of pre-colonial African societies on the eve of conquest, the European "Scramble for Africa," the colonial era, African nationalism and decolonization, and the post-colonial period. Themes will cover social, political, economic, and religious history.

This seminar introduces the interdisciplinary field of Disability Studies, which focuses on the ways medical, legal, and social discourses and practices construct non-normative bodies and minds as disabled. We will explore topics such as power and social control, lived experiences, biomedical approaches to disability, incarceration and decarceration, performance art, and crip solidarity; and engage disability justice movements that address race, class, gender, sexuality, and embodiment.

Using David Olusoga's groundbreaking book Black and British (2016) as both its inspiration and guiding principle, this course seeks to listen to and learn from Black British voices across history and across empire. How do these voices change our understanding of British history-and perhaps British literary history specifically? How might they allow us to explore alternative cartographies-literary, historical, and spatial--for London as we experience it today? PREREQUISITES: Must be attending the Lawrence London Centre.

This course traces the history of Wisconsin's Indigenous Nations from before colonization to the present. You will learn in this discussion-based course how Native Americans have shaped their history and Wisconsin history more broadly. Moreover, you will come to understand how settler and Indigenous histories themselves are constructed narratives. You will also gain important skills, including analytical writing, persuasive speaking, and historical research methods.

This course provides an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Asian American Studies with particular attention to the experiences and histories that help define what it means to be "Asian American" and to study Asians in the U.S. We will consider who is included in the category "Asian American," who or what determines that identity, and how conceptions of Asian America have changed over time. Drawing on a range of cultural texts, history, policy, race, gender and sexuality studies, we will address topics related to identity formation, community life, migration, immigration, citizenship, labor, empire, globalization, and popular culture.

Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Practical experience working with diverse population, focused on volunteer, policy, or advocacy work. For example, students might volunteer to tutor youth in ethnically diverse educational programs, or work with a local immigrant relocation agency. Students work for 5-10 hours a week, depending on the amount of credit being earned, meet periodically with the instructor, and submit a written reflection connecting the experience to their academic work in Ethnic Studies. The academic component of the internship includes readings related to the substance of the internship, discussions with the faculty supervisor, and a written report appropriate to the discipline. Course grades are based on this academic work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor

This course represents an opportunity to turn everyday conversations, debates, and discourse about sports into conversations informed by history. Too often, to quote the creators of the Kaepernick syllabus, "especially within the media and from those whose whiteness--their privilege--insulates, empowers, and protects, people speak without the requisite tools, without the requisite historic foundation, and without the necessary information." If we are going to follow NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s lead to work toward justice, we must do so with a historic foundation, with knowledge about the persistent realities of racial injustice and inequality, with insight into the longstanding struggles of the Black athlete. Through their own research, a variety of writing assignments, and by leading class discussions, students will study the activism of Harry Edwards, Serena Williams, Simone Biles, and so many others to comprehend the historic significance the Black athlete’s protest.

This course surveys African American History from 1607 to 1865. Students will analyze the African origins of this country, the Middle Passage, the different manifestations of enslavement, and the historical changes that shaped African-American life and culture thereafter—from the Revolution to Civil War. Topics will include the gendered experiences of enslavement; slave resistance; the black abolitionist movement in the United States; Civil War; Reconstruction. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing.

This course will explore African American History from 1865 to the present. We will examine the major themes, problems, events, structures, and personalities of African American History, paying particular attention to how African Americans themselves shaped their experiences. We will devote some portion of each week to the close examination of a variety of primary sources, including: autobiographies, fiction, film, speeches, music, and art. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

An introductory course in which film, theatre, literature, visual arts, and music are analyzed in an effort to explore the many ways in which ethnicity is expressed, reflected, and constructed in American culture. Issues of identity, authenticity, impersonation, commodification, stereotypes, integration, and audience will be raised.

An examination of the Atlantic trade in enslaved Africans from its beginning in the 15th century to its eventual abolition in the 19th century. Topics include ideas of slavery in Europe and Africa; the development of the Atlantic trade; the economic, social, political, and religious effects of the slave trade in Africa and the Americas; the rise of racism; abolition and its aftermath. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor

An examination of European history from the Age of National Unification through the collapse of the Soviet Empire. Topics include imperialism, the two World Wars, the Russian Revolution, fascism, totalitarianism, mass nationalism, and the reemergence of eastern and central Europe. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor

This course examines realities and images of the frontier/western experience from exploration and settlement of North America through the present. Included are native and immigrant groups, technology, transportation, agriculture, mining, and urbanization, as well as effects of the frontier on national character. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

An examination of the idea and the reality of nationalism in modern history. Among the questions we will ask are: Is nationalism a modern phenomenon, or does it have pre-modern origins? Is it compatible with democracy and human rights or fundamentally hostile to them? Is it primarily a European phenomenon transplanted to other places, or are there indigenous roots of nationalism throughout the world? We will attempt to answer these questions by reading theoretical works on nationalism from a variety of disciplines and by examining historical case studies. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor

The oldest monotheistic religion, studied through its classic texts (including the Bible, Talmud, Maimonides, the Zohar and much more). Readings of the modern era will highlight the shift from a religion to a national/ethnic identity. In addition, key terms of the Jewish cycle of life will be introduced.

Are conflicts between identity groups inevitable? Why do outbreaks of violence and ethnic conflict occur when they do? How have governments dealt with diversity and with what consequences? Students will read both new and classic works from the literature on nationalism, identity politics, genocide and post-conflict resolution across the world. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor

This course explores social psychology through the lens of research and theory on prejudice and discrimination. What are prejudice's causes, consequences, and cures? We will examine theories related to personality, emotion, cognition, and perception that help to explain generalized and specific prejudices (e.g., sexism/heterosexism, racism, ethnocentrism, anti-Semitism). Students will be assessed through exams and papers. Intended as an alternative to PSYC 270. PREREQUISITES: PSYC 100 or sophomore standing

An introduction to major postcolonial works in their literary, historical, and cultural contexts. Readings include novels by African, Asian, and Caribbean authors such as Chinua Achebe, Salman Rushdie, and Jean Rhys.

This discussion based course investigates how historical and contemporary environmental injustices are entangled with settler colonialism and extractive capitalism. Through papers, discussions, and presentations, you will come to understand how Indigenous sovereignty and decolonization are fundamentally concerned with land, water, and ecosystems. You will receive an introduction to Indigenous environmental justice, develop a theoretical toolkit to approach topics concerning settler colonialism, and explore political and environmental solutions.

This seminar uses the concept of crossing borders--im/emigrating, transgressing boundaries, occupying margins--as a focus for critical exploration of children's and young adult literature. What should books for young people be and do? Ho doe these texts participate in systems of power and developing social identities? Critical readings draw on literary, ethnic, gender, and disability studies. Discussion, short papers, and final paper/project. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore Standing

Beginning with the late eighteenth century and concluding with art today, this course examines African-American history through visual culture. We will examine how race relations in the United States were and are constructed through an examination of painting, sculpture, public monuments, photography, advertising, and performance. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

An interdisciplinary examination of issues facing Native American women today. This course explores the ways gender, race and ethnicity shape identity as well as narrative constructions of nation in regional contexts. Readings by contemporary indigenous women authors, with field trips to federally recognized tribal lands and discussion with Native American women leaders, activists, scholars, musicians, artists and business leaders from a variety of nations.

This seminar examines and critiques prominent theories/theorists of race and ethnicity. We review the origins of the concept of race and discuss both the biological myth and social reality of race. We survey primordialist, constructivist, assimilationist, and conflict theories of race and ethnicity; structural, intersectional, culturalist and critical approaches; and the re-emergence of biological theories of race in the genomic age. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor

An introduction to a variety of methodological ways of investigating our social world. We focus on applied (or public) ways of conducting research that explicitly inform social policy, programs, and practice on issues related to race and ethnicity. We work in collaborative research environments, understanding how research can be conducted both for the sake of research and to improve the lives of people.

The aim of this course is to introduce students to important health issues that different racial and ethnic communities face. The course will explore in-depth a range of issues relating to racial and ethnic health disparities and it will analyze these issues via structural, systemic and cultural frameworks.

This course will explore in-depth racial and ethnic differences in criminal involvment in the US.This will include examining police practices, policies, and laws and their impact on racial inequality in the criminal justice system. In this course we will analyze data, utilize different theoretical approaches to interpretting the data, and discuss current research regarding the ways race and ethnicity are intersected with the criminal justice system. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor

This course examines theories and experiences of race, class, gender, and sexuality that shape public and private lives. Themes include racialized sexualization; gendered participation in labor, politics, and social reform; the intersections of class, race, and gender; changing meanings of femininity, masculinity, sex, gender, and sexuality; trends in sexual expression, gender presentation, sex work, reproduction, and family formation; and feminist and other gender-equity movements. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor

This course focuses on the history of African-American entrepreneurship, the American Civil Rights movement, and legal history relevant to Black business development. The course begins with a discussion of the African origins of Black business, follows the trajectory of African American entrepreneurship in the United States to the Civil Rights movement, and closes with the emergence of the superstar Black athlete as an entrepreneur and the Hip Hop Superstar as an entrepreneur in late 20th century America. The course will conclude with a discussion of present-day laws and legal decisions impacting African-American entrepreneurship. PREREQUISITE: One college history course or AP credit in history. PREREQUISITES: One college history course or AP credit in history

The family is an integral feature of social life: We have all lived in families, managed family dynamics, and evaluated the role of family in our lives. This course will explore how the family, often characterized as an intimate component of our personal lives, is a social institution that is shaped by social, historical, cultural, legal, and economic structures. Through student-led discussions, written assignments, and their own research, students will be able to understand how their family lives are shaped by broader social systems.

This seminar offers an overview of Japanese migration to the Americas and the Caribbean, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, and more. It draws on a wide range of readings, art, media, and cultural materials to understand the complex formation of Japanese communities across the Americas. Students will learn the historical context of 19th and 20th-century social and political developments in Japan and the Americas, and understand how these histories fit in larger global migration trends. Assignments will include leading one class presentation, one primary source analysis paper, and a final research project. PREREQUISITES: ETST 110 or instructor approval.

An explanation of a particular topic in ethnic studies. Topics may pertain to an issue or debate, a specific ethno-racial community, a geographic area, or a historical time period. The specific topic investigated changes each year or varies by term. May be repeated when topic is different.

Introduction to art museums and exhibitions as objects of critical inquiry, and to issues and practices in the art museum field. Topics will include: history and evolution of collecting and display; museum exhibitions and knowledge formation; collection practices and ethics; exhibition theory and design; controversies, institutional critique, and the artist-as-curator. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

This course examines how religious cultures and discourses contributed to the emergence of the concept of race, racial classification, and processes of 'racialization'; how biblical interpretation both justified and contested the transatlantic slave trade; and how anti-Black racism relates to anti-Semitism. The course examines the history of doctrines on indigenous peoples, race science, and exploitation, and the dynamics of race and ethnicity in Israel and Palestine. Lecture/discussion with final paper. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

The course examines the history of ethnically diverse territories referred to as “Russia” from early modern times to 1991. Themes include the formation of the Russian empire, its transformation into the Soviet Union, and its partial collapse in 1991; the meaning of “empire,” “nation,” and “ethnicity”in historical context; and the interaction of Russians with non-Russian peoples in Ukraine, the Baltic States, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor; HIST 320 or 325 recommended

"Explores the coming together of distinct Native, African, and European ethnicities in Latin America, and the resulting creation of new ethnicities. We examine how race has been understood in Latin American history and how attitudes toward race have fundamentally shaped the history of the region. (Latin America) PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing; HIST 278 or HIST 279 recommended

Introduction to the peoples and cultures of the Middle East and North Africa, an area of tremendous cultural, religious, linguistic, and economic diversity. Focus on the nature of ethnography as a research method and key areas of inquiry that have concerned anthropologists working in Arab and Muslim societies. Topics include social organization, tribalism, colonialism, gender, religion, nationalism, ethnic and religious minorities, and the politics of identity. PREREQUISITES: ANTH 110 or consent of instructor

Introduces the complexity of South Asian society and culture through the study of ethnographies of gender, religious life, kinship, social organization, and economy in the colonial and post-colonial periods. PREREQUISITES: ANTH 110 or consent of instructor

This course explores the damaging effects of colonization and colonial patterns of representation on Native American people throughout history. It calls on students to produce creative interdisciplinary projects that engage with the community and offer more accurate, better-informed representations of Native American culture in the United States. Seminar/studio with readings by significant Native American authors and field trips to federally recognized tribal lands. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor

This course centers Indigeneity by exploring how we may practice and enact decolonization at institutions through ethnographic analyses and studying talk and symbolic practice. We will equip students with the skills to identify and assess how colonialism currently affects them today in an effort to create innovation around systemic structural change. Using an interdisciplinary lens students will investigate the topic through music, art, literature, and ethnographic research. Field experiences and guest presenters from Indigenous communities will be an important component of this course. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

This course examines urban processes with special attention to race and the city. We will adopt a critical spatial perspective to analyzing urban space, ecology, racial inequality, class and labor politics, public policy, urban planning, climate crisis and sustainability, urban greening and gentrification, urban agriculture, and community wellbeing. We will explore multiple methods for mapping and collectively create interactive digital maps using open-source software.

An examination of the social foundations of education in the United States with particular attention paid to the cultural, political, and economic functions of education in modern society. Other topics include the reproductive function of schooling in a society divided along lines of race/ethnicity and class, schools as sites of cultural production, and the historical tension in the U.S. between “equality” and “excellence” in education. Practicum of 20 hours required. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

A survey of human biological variation and adaptation. Topics include the geographic distribution of human variation; evolutionary approaches to understanding human diversity; historic and modern concepts of race and ethnicity; human biological adaptations to disease, climate, poverty, and other stressors; and the genetics of simple and complex traits. PREREQUISITES: ANTH 140, BIOL 110, or consent of instructor

This course will critically examine diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) practices in the workplace as part of a longer history of public relation campaigns adopted by businesses to improve their public image. We will learn about DEIB initiatives, investigate the importance of entrepreneurship to communities of color; explore how organizations aim to support diverse groups; examine efforts to recruit and retain workers from underrepresented groups; analyze case studies of commodity activism designed to attract consumers; and talk to local business owners about the ways their own diverse identity and/or their DEIB initiatives have impacted the workplaces they manage. Students will have the opportunity to participate in community engaged learning by engaging with a number of local business owners, DEIB practitioners, consultants, and experts in the field.

An interdisciplinary examination of contemporary music and art from varous Indigenous communities of North and South America. this course explores the ways the traditional arts help shape cultural identity and provide an outward expression for loss and healing. All course readings and performances are by contemporary indigenous authors, artists and musicians. Weekly written work, discussion and a multimedia project

A study of the experience of children and adolescents from different ethnic, cultural, and economic groups. Emphasis on understanding the social consequences of these differences and how such differences affect educational achievement and attainment. The sources and educational effects of individual, institutional, and systemic racism, sexism, and other forms of prejudice and discrimination will also be examined. A 20-hour practicum in a K-12 English Learners classroom or similar setting is required. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

A survey of African American literature from slave narratives through contemporary literature. Readings include works by Harriet Jacobs, Frederick Douglass, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Richard Wright, Amiri Baraka, Audre Lorde, and Toni Morrison.

Through lecture and discussion, this course compares and contrasts the diverse experiences of Blacks and Latin@ in the United States. Some topics include historical background, racial and ethnic formation, systemic racism, discrimination immigration, racial/class/gender and sexuality intersections, language discrimination and group conflict and cooperation. Students will review critically important literature, do weekly assignments and submit a final project. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor

This lecture and discussion course introduces sociological understandings of the U.S./Mexico border. More than a geographical divide, the border has a power and a force that structures and patterns human behavior, identity, and belonging for people who live near it, cross it, locate it in their memory, and see its effects on their family and friends. Students test understandings through presentations, exams and final projects. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor

This course dispels racial myths of the European continent, introduces the Black Diaspora beyond the African American context, pushes the boundaries of belonging and national identity in Europe, and presents black individuals/collectives as historical agents and transnational actors on and beyond the continent. Course materials may consist of literature, poetry, music videos, film, and art. Assessments include short reflection papers, research papers, and oral presentations. Taught in English. German majors and minors may participate in a two-unit tutorial in which discussions and some course readings will be in German.

Despite a long-term refusal to open itself to immigration, Germany has become a nation of immigrants and asylum-seekers. The course focuses on how both literature and films, including works by and about minorities in Germany, have dealt with key cultural phenomena: multiculturalism, diversity, acculturation, assimilation, “majority culture,” and parallel societies. PREREQUISITES: GER 312 or consent of the instructor

Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Practical experience working with diverse population, focused on volunteer, policy, or advocacy work. For example, students might volunteer to tutor youth in ethnically diverse educational programs, or work with a local immigrant relocation agency. Students work for 5-10 hours a week, depending on the amount of credit being earned, meet periodically with the instructor, and submit a written reflection connecting the experience to their academic work in Ethnic Studies. The academic component of the internship includes readings related to the substance of the internship, discussions with the faculty supervisor, and a written report appropriate to the discipline. Course grades are based on this academic work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor

Nonprofit organizations have been spaces where radical social movements have found liberation and domestication. This course will explore the ways that intersectional, decolonial and queer activist negotiate, leverage, and collaborate with the nonprofit industrial complex to create social change in a system created to model oppressive structures rather than change them. Students will work with nonprofits to experience how activists create liberatory spaces in these organizations and enact social change. PREREQUISITES: GEST 300, 301 or 305. If students do not have prerequisite courses, they may obtain instructor's approval to enroll in the course.

The course provides students with a broad knowledge about Latina/os frequently omitted from the common curriculum, centered in the experiences of Latina/os. Topics include race/ethnicity, gender, politics, religion, education, labor, immigration, and major historical events like the Chicano and Puerto Rican civil rights movements and the social and demographic chracteristics of Latina/os. Reading quizzes, exam, and project. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

This course examines sociological perspectives as they pertain to Black Americans. we will explore the nexus between historical and contemporary situations of African Americans in the United States in an attempt to unearth the various ways in which these strands of thought intersect at both individual and institutional levels. Readings, group projects, final exam and project. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

This writing intensive seminar examines classical statements on race and ethnicity in sociological thought. Then, we survey more recent contributions, looking at primordialist, constructivist and assimilationist theories of ethnicity; and structural, intersectional, and critical approaches to race. Lastly, we review some new directions with critical race theory and settler colonialism. This course engages complex theoretical readings, requires a research paper, includes group discussion, and concludes with a conference where students present their research to the broader public.Students who have taken ETST 301 are not eligible to take ETST 402. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing or permission of intructor. Students are strongly encouraged to have taken an Ethnic Studies course previously. Those who have not done so should speak with the instructor before registering.

A first approach to the study of Spanish in the United States through different lenses, including (but not limited to) the history of Spanish and its speakers in the U.S., a demographic overview of its varieties, sociopolitical factors surrounding its use, linguistic phenomena resulting from contact with English, and educational approaches to learning Spanish as a heritage language. Written assignments and exams. PREREQUISITES: 300-level course in Spanish or consent of instructor

An in-depth investigation of a particular topic in Ethnic Studies. Topics may pertain to an issue or debate, a specific ethno-racial community, a geographic area, or a historical time period. The specific topic investigated changes each year or varies by term. May be repeated for credit when topic is different.

This advanced seminar examines the conceptualization of Africa and Africans in modern European intellectual history. The course details how European thinkers explored issues of race and identity through their figurative and physical engagement with the African continent. Topics include travel narratives, the philosophy of slavery and abolition, and imperialism. Fulfills Seminar Requirement (G & C) PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

A comprehensive examination of the Civil War era between 1840 and 1877. Major themes and topics will include the political crisis leading to secession, the military conduct of the war, the end of slavery, the effects of the war on American society, and Reconstruction. PREREQUISITES: Junior standing and HIST 131, or consent of instructor

Visual culture has long defined that which is not white, not queer, and not male as deviant from the visual norm. This course will explore the way in which film culture has traditionally positioned people it defines as deviant from the racial, ethnic, gender or sexual norm and the ways in which filmmakers have responded to that positioning. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor

This course explores the intersections of Balinese music, dance, drama, and ritural. Discussions will include how globalization, tourism, and economic and religious tensions affect the arts and performer’s lives. Students will have hands-on experience learning to play Balinese gamelan instruments. PREREQUISITES: MUCO 212 or consent of instructor.

This lecture/discussion class will explore the rich literature African-American authors created, against great adversity, in nineteenth-century America. We will read works by Frederick Douglass, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Charlotte Forten Grimke, Paul Laurence Dunbar and others. Students will write short weekly papers and a substantial final research paper. PREREQUISITES: ENG 250, ENG 260, or junior standing; or consent of instructor

This seminar examines the history and contemporary life of “race” in France, from 18th-century French essays on the “races” of man, to the removal of the word “race” in 2018 from Article 1 of the French Constitution. Alongside literary/film written and oral analysis, we will deepen our historical and socio-cultural knowledge of French and American concepts, e.g. universalism, laïcité, intersectionality, “color-blindness,” minorités visibles. PREREQUISITES: One 300-level French course or consent of instructor.

A study of selected works reflecting the ethnic and cultural diversity of American literature, with primary attention to minority voices and experiences. Selected texts will center on a specific theme such as hybridity, migration, or belonging. Works are taught in their literary, historical, and cultural context, critical readings will also be incorporated. Students will complete several short writing assignments and a researched term paper. PREREQUISITES: ENG 150 or the equivalent

This service-learning course involves hands-on research and advocacy with Menominee community members concerning issues of sustainability, environmental justice, and community-based scholarship. You will work in groups on areas of concern to the Menominee community, and will produce knowledge that will assist in their efforts. Through course readings, presentations, field trips, and projects, you will gain a firm grounding in Indigenous knowledgeways, environmental ethics, and methodologies. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

In this lecture/discussion course, we'll look at the great stylistic variety of poetry that Black women have been writing during the past twenty years. Students will consider poetry through the lenses of critical race and gender criticism and will write weekly short papers and a substantial research paper. Poets may include Marilyn Nelson, Natasha Trethewey, Claudia Rankine, Tracy K. Smith, Nikky Finney and others. PREREQUISITES: ENG 250, ENG 260, or junior standing; or consent of instructor

In this discussion course, we will engage with literary criticism and analyze various novels and works of non-fiction by Toni Morrison, who was described in late 20th Century U.S. as "the closest thing the country has to a national writer." Discussions will include analysis of Morrison's depictions of Black Americans' experiences and the traumas of racism. Requires a researched term paper and exams. PREREQUISITES: Junior standing, 200-level (or higher) course in ENG or ETST or consent of instructor.

An exploration of African culture and history through literature and film by African authors/directors. Issues to be explored include African debates on colonialism, post-colonialism, gender, class, and ethnic stratification, religion, modernization and development. Fictional works will be discussed in tandem with ethnographic monographs and critical essays. PREREQUISITES: Junior or senior standing and at least two other courses in the social sciences

This course will focus on textual and cultural (re)presentations—including narratives, performance, film, photography and genre-defying texts—of the Central American-Mexio-U.S. borders, where spaces, race, violence and ethnicity become gendered. The course will cover the mid-1980s until contemporary times, a period tempered by the events of 9/11, as well as more recent political discourses focused on the border. Seminar with papers and a final project. PREREQUISITES: SPAN 300-level course or equivalent official placement

This seminar examines the history and cultural expressions of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean--both the insular and the continental areas--from an eco-critical perspective. Parting from the so-called discovery, conquest and colonization and moving thorugh slavery, independence and postcolonial movements, the course provides an account of the exploitative processes of imperial powers that have imagined the Caribbean as a tropical paradise. Lecture/discussion with papers. PREREQUISITES: 400-level course in Spanish or consent of instructor

An interdisciplinary investigation of the aesthetics and ethics of representing human rights and their violations in literature and film. Texts include novels, plays, essays, and films on topics such as genocide, torture, and development. PREREQUISITES: Junior standing, ENG 280, or consent of instructor

What can literature teach us about inequality and the efforts to address it? This course explores select works that represent wealth, health, and environmental inequalities at home and abroad. PREREQUISITES: PREREQUISITES: Junior standing or consent of instructor

A study of poetry, fiction, and essays by African American writers from the era of World War I through the 1930s. Authors include Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Claude McKay, Nella Larsen, W.E.B. Du Bois, and others. PREREQUISITES: Junior standing, ENG 250 or 260, or consent of instructor

This course covers the main cultural issues in Latin@ communities. It concentrates on the Latin@s of the United States, the definitions of these communities, and their cultural expressions. Through theoretical materials as well as literature, film, historical documents, testimony, etc., this course addresses a variety of subjects related to Latin@ culture. Taught in English. PREREQUISITES: One 300-level Spanish course, its equivalent, or consent of instructor

A study of the variations of black cultural nationalisms in the works of francophone writers from Africa and the Diaspora. This course examines the writers, challenge to the “Négritude” school and the ways in which they articulate plural and locational black identities to affirm their unique sense of national belonging. Readings from authors such as Senghor, Cé’saire, Laye, Condé’, Chamoiseau, Contant, and Glissant. PREREQUISITES: One 400-level French course or consent of instructor

Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Practical experience working with diverse population, focused on volunteer, policy, or advocacy work. For example, students might volunteer to tutor youth in ethnically diverse educational programs, or work with a local immigrant relocation agency. Students work for 5-10 hours a week, depending on the amount of credit being earned, meet periodically with the instructor, and submit a written reflection connecting the experience to their academic work in Ethnic Studies. The academic component of the internship includes readings related to the substance of the internship, discussions with the faculty supervisor, and a written report appropriate to the discipline. Course grades are based on this academic work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor

Seniors confer with the instructor during winter and spring term of their junior year to select specific topics related to a shared theme. At the start of the seminar, students read and discuss shared texts as they prusue individual projects on race and ethncity that reflect their own topical, theoretical, and methodological interests. PREREQUISITES: ETST 110 and ETST 302

Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Practical experience working with diverse population, focused on volunteer, policy, or advocacy work. For example, students might volunteer to tutor youth in ethnically diverse educational programs, or work with a local immigrant relocation agency. Students work for 5-10 hours a week, depending on the amount of credit being earned, meet periodically with the instructor, and submit a written reflection connecting the experience to their academic work in Ethnic Studies. The academic component of the internship includes readings related to the substance of the internship, discussions with the faculty supervisor, and a written report appropriate to the discipline. Course grades are based on this academic work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor