Ethnic Studies Program

Professor Andrea Herrera, Director

Ethnic Studies was established in 1995 as an interdisciplinary program leading to a minor. The Program promotes curricular and faculty development and sponsors lectures and colloquia. Courses offered through the Program focus primarily on the experiences and cultural expressions of the four main ethnic minority communities in the United States: African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos/Hispanics. These experiences and cultural expressions include, but are not limited to, economic, political, legal, historical and cultural dimensions of life in the United States. An important goal of the Program is to build on the knowledge grounded in the experiences of racial/ethnic groups that have been marginalized and excluded from full participation in society.

Students may earn a minor degree in Ethnic Studies or include Ethnic Studies as part of a Distributed Studies degree. The purpose of courses in Ethnic Studies is to synthesize knowledge in terms of ethnic minority perspectives. The Ethnic Studies minor at the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences will, therefore, provide a basis for:

1. examining knowledge from specific U.S. racial/ethnic minority perspectives;

2. examining relationships among racial/ethnic groups and the processes of racial/ethnic formation - and its intersections with class, gender and sexuality - at the personal and collective levels;

3. developing competencies for working with people of different racial/ethnic backgrounds and fostering an understanding of racial/ethnic diversity;

4. fostering in students critical perspectives regarding Euro-centric, indigenous and other forms of knowledge constructions.

Ethnic Studies also provides students a forum for exploring the realities of their own experiences and discussing those realities in a systematic, informed manner. Courses are designed to facilitate this exploration process in a supportive context and to empower students to live their own cultures, and view others’ cultures, in a new and positive light.

Requirements for the Minor

The minor may be earned by students enrolled in any undergraduate program at UCCS. Students must take at least 18 semester hours of designated Ethnic Studies courses for the minor. EST 200 (Introduction to Ethnic Studies) is the only required course for the minor; however, it is strongly recommended that EST 200 be taken before any other EST coursework is completed. Students are also strongly encouraged to consider the possibility of taking EST 366 (Ethnic Minority Communities: Service and Learning), a three credit upper division course, which provides students the opportunity to put into practice the theoretical knowledge gained in EST through placements with community based organizations and programs that serve the Colorado Springs community at large. The remaining 15 credit hours may be chosen from the courses listed below. Overall, 12 of the 18 hours earned for the minor must be through upper division courses. A minimum grade of C (2.0) must be received for any course to be counted toward the completion of the minor. Courses taken on a pass/fail basis will not be accepted. Transfer credits are limited to 9 hours and must be approved by the Program Director.

Required Courses

EST 200-3 Introduction to Ethnic Studies.

Elective Courses

All courses listed below are cross-listed with Ethnic Studies.

ANTH 325-3 The Prehistory and History of Native American Cultures of the Southwest

ANTH 342-3 North American Indians

ANTH 440-3 Indigenous Peoples and Cultures of the Southwest

A H 343-3 African American Art

ENGL 346-3 Race, Writing and Difference: Contemporary American Literature

ENGL 355-3 Native American Literature

ENGL 360-3 African American Literature

EST 290-3 Special Topics

EST 366-3 Ethnic Minority Communities: Service and Learning

EST 372-3 From Slavery to Freedom: Slavery & the African-American Experience in Colonial Antebellum America

EST 390-3 Special Topics

EST 401-3 Special Topics

EST 440-3 Indigenous Peoples and Cultures of the Southwest

EST 940-1-3 Independent Study in Ethnic Studies

HIST 300-3 Asian American History

HIST 350 Chicana/o History: Pre-Columbian to 1910

HIST 351-3 Chicana/o History since 1910

HIST 372-3 From Slavery to Freedom: The African American Experience, 1607-1877

PHIL 363-3 Gender and Race in Biblical Literature

PSC 305-3 Race and Ethnicity in American Politics

SOC 220-3 Introduction to Racial and Ethnic Groups

SOC 323-3 The Chicana/o Community

SOC 324-3 The African American Community

SOC 328-3 The Asian American Community

SOC 329-3 Perspectives on Race and Ethnic Relations

SPAN 433-3 Hispanic U.S. Drama

SPAN 442-3 US Latino/Hispanic Literature

SPAN 443-3 U.S. Latina/o Drama

SPAN 444-3 Hispanic, Chicana/o, and Mexican American Literature

SPAN 445-3 U.S. Cuban Literature

THTR 211-3 Introduction to Teatro Chicano

WMST 310-3 Women of Color: Image and Voice

Portfolio Requirement

In addition to completing 18 credit hours, each student will be asked to compile an academic portfolio during their senior year under the Director’s guidance. Students are strongly encouraged to contact the Director and begin compiling their portfolios upon declaring the minor. The portfolio will consist of the following materials:

1. an entry paper (written when the student declares the minor) discussing why they have chosen to enroll in the EST Program and what they hope to learn;

2. all of the assignments completed for EST 200;

3. although students may include as many materials as they choose in their portfolios, the minimum requirement is that they select at least 4 substantive written essays chosen from at least two different upper division EST elective courses taken at UCCS; at least one of these essays should be a research paper. At the time of submission, students will be asked to write a brief statement, which will act as a kind of preface, explaining why they selected each respective paper;

4. in addition to being asked to fill out an exit survey, the final piece in the portfolio will be an exit paper, which students will write on an independent basis under the Director’s supervision. In writing their exit papers, students will be asked to (a) reflect upon and synthesize their overall experience in the minor, specifically as it relates to their respective disciplinary fields; (b) and assess the overall effectiveness of the Program. Students are asked to submit photo copies of all assignments, as opposed to original materials.

The student will also be encouraged to include any additional work that reflects his/her training in Ethnic Studies.

In addition to providing students with the opportunity to reflect upon their experience in the Program, the purpose of the portfolio is to allow the Ethnic Studies Curriculum Committee the opportunity to assess and improve the academic program.

Ethnic Studies is located in Columbine Hall, Room 1001, (719) 262-4001. Advisors for the program are: Herrera (EST/ENGL), Dickson (SOC), Gomez (COMM), Ferber (SOC/WMST), Warner (SOC), and Watts (ANTH).