College of Ethnic Studies
College Administrative Offices
| Title | Officer | Office | Telephone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dean of the College | Kenneth Monteiro | EP 121 | 338-1694 |
| Associate Dean | Amy Sueyoshi | EP 121 | 338-1693 |
College Directory
| Title | Officer | Office | Telephone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Africana Studies | Dorothy Tsuruta | EP 103 | 338-2352/1054 |
| American Indian Studies | Andrew Jolivette | EP 103 | 405-3928 |
| Asian American Studies | Grace J. Yoo | EP 103 | 338-2698/1054 |
| Ethnic Studies M.A. Program | Laureen Chew | EP 428 | 338-3495 |
| Latina/Latino Studies | Jason Ferreira | EP 210 | 338-1645 |
| Race and Resistance Studies | Carlos Cordoba (acting) | EP 103 | 338-6160 |
The College of Ethnic Studies offers undergraduate degrees in the following disciplines:
Bachelor of Arts
Africana Studies 22111
American Indian Studies 22121
Asian American Studies 22996
Latina/Latino Studies 22131
The college also offers the following minors which may be taken in conjunction with any major.
Africana Studies
American Indian Studies
Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies
Asian American Studies
Latina/Latino Studies
Race and Resistance Studies
The College of Ethnic Studies offers the following graduate degrees:
Master of Arts
Asian American Studies 22996
Ethnic Studies 22991
The College of Ethnic Studies was established in the fall of 1969 through the efforts of many dedicated and concerned students, faculty, and community members. Faculty and students representing four major racial groups – African American, American Indian, Asian American, and Latino American – laid the conceptual institutional foundations for a unique educational program that redefined their particular cultures from their own perspectives for the first time in the United States. Not only were the first African American, American Indian, Asian American, and Latino American Studies Departments in the country established, these departments were successfully united into an administrative unit within San Francisco State University that is, to date, the only College of Ethnic Studies in the nation.
The San Francisco State University reaccreditation report praised the status of the College of Ethnic Studies as among national leaders in the development of scholarship on race and ethnicity. It also recognized the important role that the college plays in the lack of significant racial turmoil on the campus.
The programs within the College of Ethnic Studies provide a unique educational experience by presenting a curriculum that places a strong emphasis on the historical and philosophical impact of the cultures of African American, American Indian, Asian American, and Latino American peoples and their many varied contributions to the history and culture of the United States.
The American Indian Studies program offers course work leading to a major and a minor designed to give students knowledge and understanding of the histories, cultures, and perspectives of traditional and contemporary Native American Indians. The Asian American Studies Department offers a major and minor for students who wish to pursue a comprehensive program of study on the Asian American experience. Requirements in Asian American history, literature and the arts, gender, and family and communities will provide students with a broad range of knowledge of the diverse Asian American population. Africana Studies majors and minors are exposed through an integrated liberal arts course of study on the history and development of the African American and global community. By offering a balanced and multidisciplinary curriculum, students will develop self-knowledge and critical skills that will assist them to serve as agents of social change in their communities. Latina/Latino Studies majors and minors are exposed to classes that provide cultural, historical, and social knowledge relevant to the Latino experience. They provide students with a better understanding of Latino economic, cultural, and social heritage and prepares students for careers and professions requiring expertise on different aspects of the Latino experience. Race and Resistance Studies (RRS) provides students with a critical and comparative approach to the study of race, examining both how societal institutions—from education and health care to penal systems and popular culture—oppress diverse racialized communities and how these same communities engage in individual and collective forms of resistance in the pursuit of social justice. The objective of RRS is to produce cohorts of highly motivated, critical thinkers and socially engaged students—able to speak with informed insight to the complexities of interracial tension and possibilities for progressive cross-racial solidarities—and who will ultimately go on to occupy important positions in civic society, committing to a lifetime of learning from and organizing alongside disenfranchised communities of color in the US and abroad.
In addition to the five programs of Africana Studies, American Indian Studies, Asian American Studies, Latina/Latino Studies and Race and Resistance Studies, the college has developed a more extensive college-wide curriculum consisting of courses encompassing issues relevant to all four ethnic groups. These offerings are identified as course offerings designed to meet the needs of students who wish to complete their General Education; who will be teaching Ethnic Studies subjects in elementary, secondary, community, and college level institutions; or who wish to gain a comparative understanding of people of color and their communities and combine this with professional and vocational skills in such areas as business, social welfare, law, medicine, and the arts.
The Master of Arts in Asian American Studies is designed to provide students with an advanced, critical knowledge of the diverse Asian American population through disciplinary and interdisciplinary inquiries and analyses of Asian American history, literature and the arts, gender, and family studies as well as community studies.
The Master of Arts in Ethnic Studies, established in 1988, is designed to increase a student's knowledge and understanding of the experiences of people of color. The program provides scholarly training in the analysis of historical and contemporary social issues which impact on these experiences. The program provides students with a sound capacity to plan and evaluate policies aimed at the resolution of these issues. The focus is upon African American, American Indian, Asian American, and Latino American people, cultures, and societies.
The theoretical and conceptual tools of several disciplines are critically utilized to assess the Third World experience. The program applies this approach to instruction, research, and community involvement in the surrounding San Francisco Bay Area communities of color and with students throughout the program.
The program is designed to prepare individuals for advanced graduate work leading to the doctorate, for professional roles in teaching, research, and administration within both the public and private sectors. It is the only master's degree program in ethnic studies in the nation.
