Undergraduate

Racial and Ethnic Studies

The minor in Racial and Ethnic Studies addresses how racial and ethnic categories are created, maintained, and transformed. Students will learn about race and ethnicity from different scholarly perspectives to develop a deeper understanding of these phenomena--an expectation that is essential part of a Catholic liberal arts education at Assumption.

Racial and Ethnic Studies Program

Program Tracks Available

Minor

Admission Deadline

Early Decision: November 15

Early Action: November 15

Early Action II: December 15

Regular Decision: February 15

School

D'Amour College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department

Sociology and Criminology

Program Overview
The minor in Racial and Ethnic Studies uses interdisciplinary and comparative frameworks to understand the underlying social, cultural, and historical circumstances that impact the formation of racial and ethnic categories. As the United States becomes more racially and ethnically diverse the minor in Racial & Ethnic Studies pairs well with other majors and minors across Assumption, as employers in a wide range of fields appreciate graduates who understand these changes and work within increasingly diverse workforces.

Learning Objectives
- Learn about scholarship that explains the formation, representation, and transformation of racial and ethnic categories in specific social and historical contexts.
- Explore research that addresses the historical origins of the modern idea of race and of ethnic identities in the United States and other nations.
- Examine how race and ethnicity shape contemporary socio-economic opportunities and outcomes, and are represented in different cultural genres such as literature, art, music, and visual media.
- Address how questions of race and ethnicity relate to justice and social change through social movements, activism, and other forms of civic engagement in the US and abroad.

Program Contact

Steven D. Farough, Ph.D

Associate Professor of Sociology, Director of Racial and Ethnic Studies

508-767-7242 sfarough@assumption.edu Kennedy Memorial Hall - Room 214

An Ideal Place to Learn

Students from 33 states and 11 countries

100%

All classes taught by professors, none by teaching assistants.

13:1

Student/Faculty Ratio

Program Curriculum

Minor Requirements:

Students must complete a total of six courses, three of which must be taken beyond the student’s major requirements as specified in Assumption’s policy on the “double counting” of courses. Of the six courses, students must fulfill the following requirements to complete the minor:

●      One gateway course (HIS: 270 or SOC: 216)

●      One course in elective Literary and Artistic Perspectives on the Question of Race and Ethnicity area

●      One course in elective Historical and Social Scientific Perspectives on the Question of Race and Ethnicity area

●      Three courses in any of the elective areas
Electives:

Literary and Artistic Perspectives on the Question of Race and Ethnicity

ENG 287: Literature by American Women of Color

ENG 379: Postcolonial Literature

ENG 380: Images of Race in American Literature and Culture

ENG 387: Survey of African American Literature

CLT 256: Latino Voices

LAS 200: Introduction to Latin American Studies

MUS 125: World Music

MUS 126: Global Pop

SPA 231: Survey of Latin American Literature

SPA 380: Latin American Chronicles

Historical and Social Scientific Perspectives on the Question of Race and Ethnicity

CRM 130: Introduction to the Criminal Justice System

GLS 108: World Population Issues

GLS 112: Introduction to Global Studies

HIS 254: North American Indian

HIS 255: From Contact To Casinos: Interactions With Indians In North America

HIS 258: Colonial America

HIS 269: The African American Dream

HIS 359: Revolutionary America 1763-1815

HIS 369: Civil War and Reconstruction in the US

PSY 218: Cultural Psychology

SOC 122: Social Problems

SOC 206: Sociology of Urban Life

SOC 232: Social Inequality in Society

SOC 218: Social Movements

WMS 385: Women of the World

*SOC 216 and HIS 270 can be counted as an elective if students want to take both courses.

*There is potential for other special topics courses to count towards an elective requirement for the minor. The Chair of the program must be contacted for approval.

Course Catalog

Faculty

Steven D. Farough, Ph.D Director of Racial and Ethnic Studies Associate Professor of Sociology Director of Racial and Ethnic Studies

John Frederick Bell, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of History

Shahara B. Drew, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Practice of English

Cinzia Pica, Ed.D. Chair, Department of Human Services and Rehabilitation Studies Director of the Women’s Studies Program Professor, Human Services & Rehabilitation Studies

Smriti Rao, Ph.D Department Chair, Economics, Finance and International Business Professor of Economics Global Studies Program Director

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Racial and Ethnic Studies