Major Requirements

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What can you do with an Ethnic Studies Major?  ES majors can undertake a wide range of roles in our increasingly diverse society.  Helping to make workplaces more inclusive is just one way that ES majors contribute their field of study to the world beyond college.  When they pursue additional study, ES students typically go on to graduate programs in Ethnic Studies, Law, Public Health, Social Work, Counseling, Education, Creative Writing, American Studies, Women's and Gender studies, Film Studies, Public Administration, and Public Policy. Skill Building: Whatever you choose to do, the skills you develop as an ES major will help develop your ability to work effectively across communities and cultures, your diversity competence, and your communication and critical thinking skills. An area of study for the 21st Century: Several school districts in California have begun to require Ethnic Studies classes, recognizing the vital role this area of study will play in our increasingly diverse society. Come on board!

 

The educational goals of the Ethnic Studies Program for majors and minors include:

  • Exploring the cultural and social histories of African American, Latino, Native American and Asian American/ Pacific Islander ethnic groups.
  • Integrating Catholic social justice teaching, the Lasallian core values, and service based learning in service of these historically underrepresented groups.
  • Critically Examining United States racial and ethnic diversities and their interrelatedness to other international socio-historic systems.

Upon completion of the Ethnic Studies major, students will be able to:

  •  Describe the history and social theories relevant to a critical understanding of African American, Latino,                 Native American, and Asian American/Pacific Islander ethnic groups;
  •  Employ theoretical and analytical frameworks to understand an increasingly complex, multicultural and                 interdependent world;
  •  Identify the social, historical, economic, and religious factors that have affected and continue to affect                   ethnic groups in the U.S.;
  •  Exhibit critical thinking about issues of social injustice and the common good, and strategies for working               towards social justice.

The Ethnic Studies Major comprises 11 Courses:
2 lower division and 9 upper division.
*Core Curriculum designations noted in [ ].  
 
Lower Division (2)
ES 1—Introduction to Ethnic Studies [AD, TCG] (1)
ES 50—Creating Community [AD, CE, TCG] (1)

Upper Division Core (1)
ES 101: Critical Race Theory (or other Theory course approved by Director) [AD, TCG]
ES 196- Capstone Course (1)

One Methods Course from list below: (1)
(Other courses may be taken with approval of ES Director):  
 ES/COMM 111: Qualitative Methods
 ES/COMM 143: Advanced Video Production
 ES/HIS 105 Modern Approaches to History
 ES/SOC 132: Sociological Research Methods
 ES/ENG 170: Film Theory

Six Upper Division Electives (6)
Two courses from each of the following categories:
Ethnic Groups and Identity; Arts and Literature; and Socioeconomics and Inequality

  Ethnic Groups and Identity:
•    ES 102
•    ES/COMM 106 [AD, SHCU]
•    ES/SOC 107 [AD], 111 [AD, SHCU], 123 [AD}, 125
•    ES/HIST 141 [AD, SHCU], 142 [AD, SHCU]   
•    ES/POL 110 [AD, CE, TCG], 140 [CE]   
•    ES/PSYCH 163 [AD]
•    ES/TRS 171 [AD, TE] 
 
  Arts and Literature: 
•    ES/COMM 143 [AA, CP], 161 [CE, TCG]
•    ES/ENGL 152, 154 [AA, AD], 182 [AA], 184 [AA]        
•    ES/PERFA 113 [AA, AD]    
•    ES/SEM 144
•    ES/SPAN 140 [AA, GP]
 
   Socioeconomics and Inequality:
•    ES/ANTH 131   
•    ES/COMM 161 [CE, TCG]   
•    ES/POL 106, 115 [AD, SHCU, TCG]
•    ES/PSYCH 163 [AD]
•    ES/SOC 115 [AD, SHCU]
•    ES/TRS 117 [AD, TCG, TE]    
 
Additional courses are approved on a term-to-term basis.