The Associate in Arts Degree in Ethnic Studies is intended to provide students with a comparative, trans-disciplinary, multisectoral, and multidimensional interpretation of the experiences of Native/First People/ Indigenous/American Indian/First Nation American, African/Black American, Chicana/Chicano/Chican@/Chicanx/Xicana/Xicano/Xicanx/Xican@/Latin/Latina/Latino/Latine/Latinx American, and Asian American. Students study the social, cultural, political, economic, and historical narrative of communities of color in the United States to critically analyze issues distinct to race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, religion, spirituality, national origin, immigration status, ability, and/or age while developing a consciousness of the cultural pluralism in American society. This degree’s primary purpose is to present these four groups’ narratives due to being excluded from the overall American experience, American identity, and American definition. The degree provides insight into how these four groups endured the “American Experience” based on hierarchy, oppression, racialization, ethnocentrism, Eurocentrism, and White supremacy and their continued resistance, social justice, liberation, progression, evolution, healing, resiliency, emphasizing agency and self-affirmation.

Learning Outcome(s):

🗸 Students will gain the ability to work effectively with increasingly diverse populations.

🗸 Students shall learn to analyze the societal, institutional, and systemic racial impacts of law, politics, culture, and public policy.

🗸 Students will gain knowledge about diverse human behavior and communities.

🗸 Students shall develop cultural competency, central to living in and understanding the surrounding world.

🗸 Students will critically engage with the cultural and intellectual contributions of people of color.

🗸 Students shall actively critically analyze Ethnic Studies perspectives, theories, and themes.

🗸 Students will analyze and evaluate the social, cultural, and political concepts central to the experiences of communities of color.

🗸 Students shall develop and foster research techniques founded on anti-oppressive, anti-racist, anti-colonial, anti-suppressive, and antirepressive methodologies for participatory research with communities of color.

🗸 Students will actively engage with anti-oppressive, anti-racist, anti-colonial, anti-suppressive, anti-repressive, self-determination, liberation, decolonization, sovereignty, and resiliency issues to create practices and movements founded on these ideals within communities of color.

🗸 Students shall develop an awareness of resistance, social justice, liberation, progression, evolution, healing, resiliency, emphasizing agency and self-affirmation