Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
American Studies and Ethnicity
Undergraduate Degrees
Bachelor of Arts, American Studies and Ethnicity (Chicano/Latino Studies)
Chicano/Latino Studies is a multidisciplinary program designed to provide students with a critical understanding of the historical, cultural, social and political experience of Chicanos and Latinos, with a particular emphasis on the development and culture of the Chicano/Latino communities in California and the West as well as on both historical and contemporary effects of global issues on Chicano/Latino communities. By drawing upon courses in American Studies and Ethnicity and by emphasizing comparative as well as interdisciplinary study, this program offers training in the analytic tools and methods of interpretation appropriate for studying the Chicano/Latino experience in its particularity and ethnic and cultural study in general. The program is particularly appropriate for students interested in integrating studies in the humanities and social sciences and for students preparing to work and interact with diverse communities and cultures in the United States and abroad in such fields as education, human services, business, journalism and psublic administration.
Chicano/Latino Studies is administered by an executive committee comprising the chair, directors of the four majors, and other faculty members. In addition to the college academic adviser, the directors of the majors serve as advisers to majors and minors, providing, in conjunction with the sequence of courses, an opportunity for students to undertake an interdisciplinary concentration under close faculty supervision. It is recommended that students meet with the appropriate major director to plan a coherent set of courses to fulfill the major or minor requirements.
Program Major Requirements
Ten courses in Chicano/Latino Studies, or courses certified for Chicano/Latino Studies credit, are required. The 10 courses must be distributed as follows: the three core requirement courses of AMST 200, AMST 350 and AMST 498; one course from each of the following three lists: History, Literature and Culture, and Social and Political Issues; and additional elective courses for a total of 16 units chosen from the courses certified in Chicano/Latino Studies at the 300 level or above.
| Core Requirements | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| AMST 200 | Introduction to American Studies and Ethnicity | 4 |
| AMST 350 | Junior Seminar in American Studies and Ethnicity: Theories and Methods | 4 |
| AMST 498* | Senior Seminar in American Studies and Ethnicity | 4 |
| 200/300/400-Level Required Courses | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| One course from each of the following categories: | ||
| History | ||
| AMST 373 | History of the Mexican American | 4 |
| HIST 354 | Mexican Migration to the United States | 4 |
| Literature and Culture | ||
| AMST 448 | Chicano and Latino Literature | 4 |
| SPAN 413 | Social and Geographic Varieties of Spanish | 4 |
| Social and Political Issues | ||
| AMST 101 | Race and Class in Los Angeles | 4 |
| AMST 140 | Borderlands in a Global Context | 4 |
| AMST 274 | Exploring Ethnicity through Film | 4 |
| AMST 340 | Latina/o L.A. | 4 |
| AMST 357 | Latino Social Movements | 4 |
| AMST 365 | Leadership in the Community — Internship | 4 |
| AMST 389 | Carceral Geographies | 4 |
| AMST 446 | Cultural Circuits in the Americas | 4 |
| POSC 428 | Latino Politics | 4 |
| PSYC 462 | Minority Mental Health | 4 |
| REL 333 | Religion in the Borderlands | 4 |
| SOC 100 | Los Angeles and the American Dream | 4 |
| SOCI 356 | Mexican Immigrants in a Diverse Society | 4 |
| SOCI 366 | Chicana and Latina Sociology | 4 |
| upper-division elective courses | units | |
|---|---|---|
| Additional courses for a total of 16 units from the lists above or below, or other American Studies and Ethnicity courses with the approval of the Chicano/Latino Studies director, 300 level or higher. No more than two total courses in the major may be taken outside the college. | ||
| AMST 301 | America, the Frontier, and the New West | 4 |
| AMST 320 | Social Construction of Race and Citizenship | 4 |
| AMST 348 | Race and Environmentalism | 4 |
| AMST 353 | Race and Racism in the Americas | 4 |
| AMST 392 | Undergraduate Research Methods | 2 |
| AMST 452 | Race, Gender and Sexuality | 4 |
| AMST 490x | Directed Research | 1–8, max 12 |
| AMST 493 | Senior Honors Thesis in American Studies and Ethnicity | 4 |
| AMST 499 | Special Topics | 2–4, max 8 |
| COMM 458 | Race and Ethnicity in Entertainment and the Arts | 4 |
| POSC 424 | Political Participation and American Diversity | 4 |
| SOCI 432 | Racial and Ethnic Relations in a Global Society | 4 |