Undergraduate Education>>Majors>>| African and African American Studies | Asian American Studies | Chicana and Chicano Studies | Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity | Jewish Studies | Native American Studies

Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CSRE)

The major and minor in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CSRE) offers students one of the most unique opportunities in higher education: to study the topics of race and ethnicity from comparative national and international perspectives. How to manage and to understand ethnic differences and conflicts has long been a central issue in international affairs, especially since the end of the Cold War, and an intense debate has developed in the United States on how to achieve justice and equality in an ethnically diverse, multicultural society. The themes of both interethnic cooperation and conflict are critical for comprehending the history and current social reality of racial and ethnic groups world wide. Students have an opportunity to structure an interdisciplinary major or minor in Comparative Studies that will encourage the study of these and other important issues facing the U.S. and other societies.

Students who major in Comparative Studies enroll in a core curriculum, and in consultation with the chair of the program and a faculty mentor, develop a thematic course of study focusing on comparative dimensions of race and ethnicity. Though majors and minors in Comparative Studies are encouraged to complete the CSRE core introductory courses before they focus their work on the thematic concentration, students have great flexibility to structure and design their comparative curriculum. For example, students may opt to develop a concentration comparing two or more groups within the U.S. or they may choose to study groups in the U.S. in comparison to ethnic groups elsewhere in the world. Or, they may opt to study the diaspora of a single group or study the sovereignty of indigenous peoples within and across different national contexts.

The major in Comparative Studies is chaired by Professor C. Matthew Snipp (Sociology).