Race and Ethnicity Studies Program Minor

The Race and Ethnicity Studies Program offers a minor designed to examine race and ethnicity as categories of difference and as forms of lived experience and attends to how these categories intersect and overlap with other forms of difference (such as gender, nation, indigeneity, class, religion, ability, sexuality, etc.).

The minor approaches race and ethnicity as constructs in particular historical contexts from interdisciplinary, comparative, intercultural, and transnational perspectives. It also develops a critical awareness of colonial and Eurocentric influences on both the construction of these categories and the scholarly discourse about them. The minor thus provides a critical lens on a variety of historical and contemporary issues and debates generated by specific racial and ethnic formations. At the same time, the minor takes note of mobilizations and liberating cultural expressions that have emerged both in response and as alternatives to dominant racial and ethnic structures.

At Southwestern University, you are not simply the passive consumer of current knowledge; you are an active participant in the creation of new knowledge. The Southwestern Experience is designed to develop the intellectual practices necessary to enhance your ability to explore regions of original thought and creative expression.

The world is changing—and at an accelerating pace. In a 21st-century career, you will be required to advance the frontiers of knowledge, adapt quickly to change, problem-solve new and complex challenges, and anticipate what’s next.

We’ve created an experience that prepares you for these new realities. Combining our flexible curriculum, the development of modern ways of thinking, and real-world experience, SU will equip you with the skills required to adapt, create, collaborate, and view challenges from multiple perspectives. These skills represent a valuable piece of a much broader, more relevant education for the tomorrow that awaits you.