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Concentration

Ethnic Studies Ten-Course Concentration Program

ET50: Introduction to Ethnic/American Studies;

  • 2 courses selected from the designated set of core courses, including introductory courses in Latina/o, African-, Asian-, and Native-American studies (AA9 or 10, AC161, AN114, SO127, AN106, EL73);
  • 3 approved courses in ethnic studies which address the student’s focus area;
  • 3 courses drawn from a list of related courses determined in consultation w/ the concentration advisor;
  • ET190: Senior Seminar in Ethnic Studies.

Concentrators develop individual programs in consultation with faculty advisors, with courses drawn from the humanities and social sciences. Each program is organized around a set of core Ethnic Studies courses, intended to help students identify a set of historical and theoretical questions to be studied, and to give them the tools necessary to address the questions in a systematic and well-defined manner.

The following are some examples of areas of study on which students can focus:

  • Social issues that affect racial groups (e.g. racial inequalities on health or education)
  • The study of cultural production or cultural representations of particular racial groups
  • The history of particular racial and ethnic groups
  • U.S. based historical or subject oriented comparisons of racial groups
  • The study of comparative process of racialization
  • The formation and history of diasporas and/or transnational communities

The list above is not an exhaustive one. There is a great deal of flexibility in the organization of the focus area. The goal is to allow students to develop and address their own interests. Students should feel free to contact individual professors via email to schedule appointments re. the concentration program. Please note that some ET faculty hold office hours at the CSREA—while others are based out of their respective departments. Prof. Jose Itzigsohn serves as the main ET concentration advisor and is the signatory for all concentration forms.

Procedures for Honors in Ethnic Studies

The following are the guidelines and the deadlines for those who want to graduate with honors in Ethnic Studies.

  1. The requirements for honors in Ethnic Studies are the following:
    • Writing a senior honors thesis
    • A 3.5 GPA in concentration courses
    • A 3.0 overall GPA
  2. In order to write a senior thesis, students need to work with two professors who will agree to be their readers. The two readers should recommend the thesis for honors. At least one of the readers should be a core Ethnic Studies faculty (See the core faculty list on the ET Fact Sheet). If a student wants to work with two professors, neither of whom is a core Ethnic Studies faculty, then they should have a third reader who will read the final draft and approve it as an Ethnic Studies thesis.
  3. Students who want to graduate with honors should declare their intention no later than September 30th of their senior year. In order to enroll in the honors program, students should write a 1 page letter to the concentration advisor describing their intended research and the names of two professors who have agreed to be their readers. Students should present that letter to the concentration advisor during the month of September of their senior year (or during the month of February if they are graduating in December). The concentration advisor should sign that request. That signature confirms the admission of the student to the honors program. Students who did not obtain the approval of the concentration advisor before September 30th of their senior year will not be admitted into the honors program.
  4. The deadline for a finished full draft is April 21. Students should turn in a completed draft to their readers by that day. Of course, students will turn chapters to their advisors before that, according to their advisors` recommendations, but April 21 is the absolute deadline to turn in a draft that needs only minor corrections.
  5. Students will make a public presentation of their work at the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity during the first week of May (at a date to be determined).