Ethnic Studies is the interdisciplinary study of race and ethnicity as understood through the experiences and perspectives of the four primary racialized groups in the United States - African Americans, Asian Americans, Chicanxs/Latinxs, and Native Americans. Ethnic Studies uses an intersectional approach that considers race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, gender, ability, immigration status, national origin, tribal citizenship, language, and other markers of social identity to examine social inequality, and to envision and work toward a more just and egalitarian society.
Ethnic Studies courses are designed to assist students in developing a critical understanding of structural inequities and social movements in the United States in order to actively engage in personal and collective transformation.
Saddleback College is committed to building a strong and diverse Ethnic Studies program. We currently offer an variety of courses in the discipline and will be developing more as we finalize our transfer degree in Ethnic Studies.
Courses
California State University Area F Approved Courses
- ES 1 - Introduction to Ethnic Studies (3 units)
- ES 3 - Introduction to Chicanx and Latinx Studies (3 units)
- ES/ANTH 4 - Introduction to Native American Studies (3 units)
Additional Ethnic Studies Courses Coming Soon
- ES/SOC 9 - Racial and Ethnic Groups in the United States (3 units) - Available Fall 2023
- ES/HIST 10 - Race, Ethnicity, and Resistance to US History (3 units) - Available Fall 2023
- ES/HIST 33 - Chicanx-Latinx United States History (3 units) - Available Fall 2023
- ES/HIST 81 - African American United States History (3 units) - Available Fall 2023
Core Competencies of the CSU Ethnic Studies Requirement
Students who successfully complete an approved course in Ethnic Studies will be able to:
1. Analyze and articulate concepts such as race and racism, racialization, ethnicity, equity, ethno-centrism, eurocentrism, white supremacy, self-determination, liberation, decolonization, sovereignty, imperialism, settler colonialism, and anti-racism as analyzed in any one or more of the following: Native American Studies, African American Studies, Asian American Studies, and Chicanx/Latinx Studies.
2. Apply theory and knowledge produced by Native American, African American, Asian American, and/or Chicanx/Latinx communities to describe the critical events, histories, cultures, intellectual traditions, contributions, lived-experiences and social struggles of those groups with a particular emphasis on agency and group-affirmation.
3. Critically analyze the intersection of race and racism as they relate to class, gender, sexuality, religion, spirituality, national origin, immigration status, ability, tribal citizenship, sovereignty, language, and/or age in Native American, African American, Asian American, and/or Chicanx/Latinx communities.
4. Critically review how struggle, resistance, racial and social justice, solidarity, and liberation, as experienced and enacted by Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans and/or Chicanx/Latinx individuals are relevant to current and structural issues such as communal, national, international, and transnational politics as, for example, in immigration, reparations, settler-colonialism, multiculturalism, language policies.
5. Describe and actively engage with anti-racist and anti-colonial issues and the practices and movements in Native American, African American, Asian American and/or Chicanx/Latinx communities and a just and equitable society.