Guided Pathways: Race and Ethnicity

Issues of race and ethnicity have permeated all aspects of socio-political and cultural life. History cannot be properly understood without understanding how racial formations were created and sustained and how those formations shaped societies. Racial and ethnic hierarchies formed states and nations, caused the migrations of masses of people, transformed economies and trade, altered systems of beliefs, and produced multiple layers of cultures. In addition to the Diversity courses in African American, Chicana/o, and Asian American history, courses on colonialism and imperialism, gender, and World history take as a key component an examination of race and ethnicity. Students who pursue this pathway will heighten their perception of less visible structures of racial formations across societies, develop critical analytic skills in comprehending theories and events, and raise their ability to synthesize pragmatic initiatives regarding racial issues and their intersections with those of gender and class.