The Ethnic Studies minor offers an interdisciplinary perspective on race, ethnicity, and culture, especially on the nature of historical and social constructs that define group and individual experiences, attitudes, and identities. The focus of the minor will be on the following North American ethnic groups: African-American, Chicano/Latino, Native American, and Asian American.

The objectives of the minor have two complementary components. One, more narrowly academic, aims at helping students develop critical thinking using a multicultural perspective with reference to their own backgrounds and those of others, and with materials from within and without the traditional canon. The other, more social and experimental, involves becoming familiar with and appreciating diversity among students and the larger community. Both aim at providing knowledge and understanding which will help students reach across racial and cultural barriers and equip them to function effectively, both professionally and personally, in a multicultural world.

Requirements for Minor

A minimum of 15 credit hours constitutes the minor.

Program Core

• HIST 225 Alternative Perspectives of United States History: Racial Minorities and Mainstream America or
• ENGL 365 American Ethnic Literature 3 Cr.

Elective Courses

• ECON 233 Economics of Race and Gender 3 Cr.
• ENGL 365 Fiction by American Women
  (designated sections) 3 Cr.
• GEO 200 American Ethnic Geography 3 Cr.
• GEO 274 North American Indian on Film 3 Cr.
• HIST 322 Slavery, Abolitionism, and Sectionalism 3 Cr.
• HIST 323 Civil War and Reconstruction 3 Cr.
• MUS 101 Introduction to Music 3 Cr.
• SOCW 210 Social Welfare: Policy and Services 3 Cr.
• SOCW 330 Vulnerable Populations: Color, Gender, and Orientation 3 Cr.
• SOC 160 Contemporary Social Problems
  (approval by committee with consultation with instructor required) 3 Cr.
• SOC 347 Race and Ethnic Relations 3 Cr.
• THEO 337 Black Theology and Black Church 3 Cr.
• THEO 353 Studies in Theology and Practice
  (when topic is appropriate) 3 Cr.
• THEO 368 Native American Religions 3 Cr.

Ethnic Studies Administrative Committee

Chair: Lou Jeanne Walton
Associate Professor of Social Work
Heidbrink 103, Tel: 219.464.6015

Dr. Meredith Berg
Professor of History
Huegli 326, Tel: 219.464.5337

Dr. Ronald Janke
Professor of Geography and Meteorology
Mueller 9, Tel: 219.464.5139

Dr. Peter Venturelli
Associate Professor of Sociology
Huegli 206, Tel: 219.464.5306

Contact

Chair: Lou Jeanne Walton
Associate Professor of Social Work
Heidbrink 103
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso, IN 46383
Tel: 219.464.6015
E-mail:LouJeanne.Walton@valpo.edu