Department Mission and Description

Ethnic Studies is the study of the histories, experiences, cultures, and issues of racial ethnic groups in the United States. The Ethnic Studies discipline emphasizes the social and historical study of race and racism in the United States, and it is defined by its attention to the systemic power relations that arise from institutional, cultural, and societal, contextually imposed or chosen meanings and interpretations of “race.” While the focus is on the experiences of racialized peoples in the United States, the department also understands that race and racism are not unique or exclusive to the United States and can be juxtaposed with academic parallels made beyond the borders of the United States.

The department faculty are committed to intellectually rigorous teaching, scholarly activity that is programmatic and consequential to the field, and inclusive and supportive activism and service. From an intersectional and interdisciplinary approach, Ethnic Studies advances, challenges, and examines the social dynamics of race, racism, structural violence, colonialism, legalized discrimination, assimilation, and the resulting influences and impacts of such processes in the pursuit of human freedom and social justice. Moreover, Ethnic Studies provides an in-depth understanding of racial-ethnic diversity, indigenous and liberationist epistemologies, community and identity formation, artistic productions, and activism on the social, legal, cultural, and/or public policy front(s).