Ethnicity and Race

ER code: one 5-credit course or equivalent. Courses that carry the ER GE designation prepare students for a state and a world that are increasingly multiethnic and multiracial. Beyond familiarizing students with the culture and/or history of one or more ethnic or racial groups, these courses also aim to develop theoretical and practical understanding of questions such as (but not limited to):

how categories of ethnicity and race are constructed
the role that ethnicity and race can play in identity formation
how ethnicity and race have historically been used to justify forms of enforced inequality
contributions of people of various ethnicities to society and to political change

Whatever the approach, these courses are particularly concerned with how ethnicity and race may intersect with other categories such as gender, class, or sexual orientation, to shape self-understanding and patterns of human interaction. While such courses may often adopt an historical perspective on the issues they consider, they will provide a critical perspective on race/ethnicity relevant to the present.