Study of contemporary issues in the field of Ethnic Studies. Topics will vary from semester to semester, but may include topics such as pandemics, monuments, Black Lives Matter, social movements, immigration, and health disparities. Course topic will be posted to the online schedule of classes at the beginning of each term.

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was a pandemic. A pandemic is defined as “an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people.”[1] This introductory course will feature ethnic studies approaches to the study of the histories of and contemporary issues related to pandemics. This focus enables us to study how ethnic studies scholars have approached the study of various pandemics, including, but not limited to cholera, smallpox, SARS, and COVID-19, and their impact on the experiences of Asian Americans, African Americans, Chicanx and Latinx, and Native Americans. The major questions that we will address include: How have pandemics and disease outbreaks contributed to the stereotyping and scapegoating of these groups as inferior and weak and to inequality in public health? How have these groups challenged these one-dimensional and harmful representations of them as diseased and dirty? And how have they contributed to US health care delivery as health practitioners, activists, and researchers? Students will be introduced to key themes and concepts in ethnic studies such as racialization, immigration, and intersectionality. Three guest speakers from community organizations will present on the impact of COVID-19 on diverse communities. You will also be introduced to the collections of the Ethnic Studies Library and engage in a discovery project related to books, posters, and other materials on health and well-being in their special collections.

Repeat Rules