ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Ethnic studies is an interdisciplinary program that uses cross-cultural comparative methods to explore the diverse histories and cultures of ethnic groups in the US to examine the formation of identities and societies in local, national, and global contexts, and to analyze the social, cultural, and political sources of bias and discrimination.
Spring 2012 COURSES
ETHN 2001: Introduction to Ethnic Studies | MW 2-3:15 pm
Instructor: Dr. Su-ching Huang (huangsu@ecu.edu)
In this course we will explore ethnicity and race in the United States by examining our own experiences as well as literary and scholarly explorations of the concepts. Our goal will be to develop a critical framework that will help us better understand our multicultural society. Questions we will consider include: What is race? What is ethnicity? How does ethnicity relate to race? What is ethnic studies? How are ethnicity and race perceived in America? What constitutes membership in an ethnic group? How have concepts of, policies toward, and treatment of ethnic groups changed over time? How do authors explore, express, extend and resist notions of ethnicity and race in literary, scholarly, and documentary works? How can considering these works help us understand better America's past, present, and future?
Required Textbooks:
- Toni Morrison. The Bluest Eye
- Joseph Skerrett, ed. Literature, Race, and Ethnicity: Contesting American Identities.
Other texts and films include selected essays and short stories, Race: The Power of an Illusion, The Cats of Mirikitani, and Smoke Signals.
HNRS 2011.003 Middle Eastern Women’s Voices in Love, War, Fact, & Fiction | T 5:30-8:20 pm
Instructors: Dr. Mona Russell & Dr. Rick Taylor
HNRS 2011.003, an honors course, approaches women’s voice in Middle Eastern literature from an interdisciplinary angle and examines the changing position of women in varying social, historical, economic, and national contexts.
ETHN 3501 Special Topics in Ethnic Studies: Arabs in American Literature and Film | T/Th 9:30-10:45 am
Instructor: Dr. Mona Russell
ETHN 3501, a special topics class, considers the Arab-American identity as it evolves over the course of the twentieth-century as expressed in poetry, autobiography, and fiction by a variety of authors.
ETHN 4000 Seminar in Ethnic Studies: Hip-Hop Culture in Film, Music, and Politics | T/Th 2-3:15 pm
Instructor: Dr. J.I. Middleton
In ETHN 4000, students will learn to how to critically analyze a variety of elements in hip hop, including themes and issues in film, music, language, and youth politics.
ENGL 4340 Ethnic American Literature | Course is DE (Distance Education), taught completely ONLINE!
Instructor: Dr. Su-ching Huang (huangsu@ecu.edu)
This course explores fiction, poetry and essays by ethnic American writers of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Native American, African American, Jewish American, Asian American, and Hispanic American writers.
Required Textbooks:(Available from Dowdy or www.amazon.com)
- Wesley Brown and Amy Ling, eds., Imagining America: Stories From the Promised Land (rev. ed.)
- Sherman Alexie, Flight
- Toni Morrison, Jazz
- Cynthia Kadohata, The Floating World
- Diana Garcia, When Living Was a Labor Camp
*Selected stories, essays, and other resources posted on Blackboard.
Anthropology 3200 Women’s Roles in Cross-Cultural Perspective | MWF 11:00-11:50 a.m. (no prerequisites but a previous anthropology course is helpful)
Instructor: Dr. Holly Mathews (mathewsh@ecu.edu)
This course will focus on gender and difference in a globalizing world. Students will read women’s life stories from different cultures and research a key global issue affecting women worldwide.
