Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity

Ramon Saldivar photo

Faculty Director's Welcome 

Welcome to the Interdepartmental Program in Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity.

CSRE courses empower students with the tools to assess and build inclusivity, equity, diversity, accessibility, and justice. Our classes take an interdisciplinary approach to considering how gender, sexuality, ability, capital, technology, education, politics, and the environment structure our bodies, experiences, and communities. Students have the option to focus on particular racial and ethnic groups and on issues that move across peoples and places.

We encourage our students to enroll in a wide variety of courses. CSRE listings can be found in Anthropology, Art and Art History, Education, History, Linguistics, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology, Theater and Performance Studies, and more. Majors in CSRE engage with a range of perspectives and methodologies and grapple with key themes including decolonization, indigeneity, intersectionality, movement-building, resistance, solidarity, and wellness. By analyzing interlocking structures of identity and difference, CSRE students interrogate the role of power, reimagine the world, and reclaim the future.

With subplans in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences, including Health & Wellness, Education & Inequality, and Technology & Media, CSRE offers majors the opportunity to develop an individualized course of study that helps students meet their own personal and professional goals. The CSRE community supports students throughout their intellectual, personal, and political journeys at Stanford. 

CSRE is an environment within Stanford that sustains the search for and production of new knowledge by blending intellectual rigor with human compassion, encouraging self-confidence, and helping build communities of learning. We are committed to exploring how race and ethnicity shape global history, undergird our social systems, and touch every aspect of our lives.

Ramón Saldívar

Director of CSRE
Professor of English and Comparative Literature 
Hoagland Family Professor of Humanities and Sciences

Annie Atura Bushnell

Executive Director of CCSRE

Leila Tamale

Undergraduate Council Coordinator

Emily Rodriguez 

Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity Liaison

Upcoming Events

Spotlight

  • Spotlight - Announcements
  • Spotlight - CCSRE Students
CCSRE is proud to celebrate YuYu Yuan, an outstanding 2023 Undergraduate Praxis Fellow. A rising junior and CSRE major, YuYu is passionate about racial justice and community building.

Degree Requirements

Major Requirements

Core Program Requirements

Required Courses:

1 Introductory Course

  • CSRE100: Intro to Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity 

1 Comparative Core course offering a foundation in race studies

  • CSRE101A: Indigeneity and Colonialism
  • CSRE101B: Institutions and Inequities 
  • or CSRE101C: Resistance and Liberation

1 Methodology course in a discipline of your choosing

1 Community-Engaged Learning course or pre-approved project 

25 units of Subplan-specific coursework (see below dropdown for Subplan options)

1 Capstone course

  • CSRE 200X - CSRE Senior Seminar  
    • CSRE majors draw upon their interdisciplinary expertise and training in race studies to design and complete a public-facing research project or research paper.
  • or CSRE 201X, 201Y & 201Z - CSRE Honors Seminar 
    • The Honors Thesis Seminar is a year-long research- and writing-intensive sequence designed to support students as they apply their skills, knowledge, and political commitments to the investigation of a focused research question. 

Comparative Studies majors must complete the remaining units of their 60-unit minimum with elective coursework in the CCSRE family of programs. The majority of elective units must be completed in CSRE.

To find a more detailed overview of this major, please visit our Bulletin page. 

If you are ready to declare, please visit the How to Declare page

Minor Requirements

In order to earn a Minor in CSRE, students must complete at least 30 units toward the minor.

  • 5 Units of an Introductory Course 
  • 5 Units of a Comparative Core Course
  • 20 Units of CSRE Electives 

Introductory Course (5 Units)

Minors must take CSRE 100 - Introduction to Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity.

Comparative Core Course offering a foundation in race studies (5 Units)

Minors are required to take one Comparative Core Course:

  • CSRE101A: Indigeneity and Colonialism
  • CSRE101B: Institutions and Inequities 
  • or CSRE101C: Resistance and Liberation

CSRE Electives (20 Units)

Minors are required to take a minimum of four additional courses in the CCSRE family of programs; a minimum of 11 units must be in CSRE. 

 

To find a more detailed overview of this minor please visit our Bulletin Page.

If you are ready to declare, please visit the How to Declare Page

CSRE Subplans

Subplans are required of students majoring in Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity (CSRE). (Note that subplans are not available to majors in Asian American Studies, Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies, Jewish Studies, or Native American Studies.)

CSRE majors declare one of the program's eight subplans to direct their studies and may propose an individualized subplan as appropriate. Subplans are noted on CSRE students transcripts and diplomas; individually designed foci will appear as "Self-Designed." Students must complete a minimum of 25 units of subplan-focused courses as part of the 60 units taken toward the major. 

The eight CSRE subplans are listed below. 

Subplan: Education and Inequality

The subplan in Education and Inequality explores history, policy, and practice in education to understand how educational opportunity and learning outcomes are shaped by race, ethnicity, and power. Students will develop an understanding of the core issues facing educators and policymakers and will be prepared to contribute to social and political discourse about education and opportunity. 

Subplan: Environmental Justice

The Environmental Justice subplan develops students' understanding of the uneven and far-reaching impacts of environmental policy, climate change, grassroots environmental movements, and more. Students will develop facility with a variety of methodologies and will leave prepared to work toward just environments for all. 

Subplan: Health and Wellness

The subplan in Health and Wellness supports interdisciplinary exploration of health research, access, and policy. Students will take qualitative and quantitative approaches to understanding how health and wellness are defined and impacted by processes of racialization. 

Subplan: Identity, Diversity, and Aesthetics

The Identity, Diversity, and Aesthetics subplan explores the intersections of culture, race, and social transformation. Through courses taught by Stanford faculty, lecturers, and distinguished Visiting Artists in the Institute for Diversity in the Arts, students experiment with how the arts, activism, and academic research come together to enact aesthetic and societal change. 

Subplan: Politics, Policy, and Equity

The Politics, Policy, and Equity subplan focuses on the ways in which political institutions, public policy, nonprofits, and social movements shape and are shaped by race and ethnicity. This subplan will give students the tools and frameworks to examine the ramifications that politics and policy have on processes of racialization. 

Subplan: Race, Gender, and Sexuality 

The Race, Gender, and Sexuality subplan is designed for students who wish to explore the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. Drawing from the contributions of women of color feminism and queer of color studies, this concentration challenges normative constructions of race and ethnicity by equipping students with analytical tools from feminist theory, queer theory, post-colonial theory, critical race theory, and other critical methods. 

Subplan: Race, Space, and Belonging 

The Race, Space, and Belonging subplan examines issues of immigrants, citizenship, empire, gentrification, segregation, urban and rural space, human rights, public welfare, social justice, and law. Students take courses from a range of departments and programs to examine the ways in which race and ethnicity shape constructions of and access to space, nation, and public resources. 

Subplan: Technology and Media

Students in this subplan will explore the relationship between technology, media, and racialization. Race and ethnicity are used as a crucial lens for understanding the meaning, power, and evolution of technologies, from type, photography, film, and radio to social media, artificial intelligence, and algorithms. Students are given the tools to assess technology equity and to reimagine how technology might be harnessed to actualize a more just and equitable world. 

Subplan: Self-Designed

A proposal for a self-designed subplan should include a general description of the student's focus, an articulation of why it cannot be accommodated by current subplans, a course plan, and a description of how each course meets the student's educational objectives. A proposal for a self-designed subplan must be submitted with a student's Major Declaration Proposal and will be reviewed by CCSRE Academic Programs. 

Affiliated Faculty

Theater and Performance Studies
Graduate School of Education
Sociology
Graduate School of Education
Graduate School of Education
Sociology
Political Science
Theater and Performance Studies
English
Anthropology
Anthropology
Religious Studies
Sociology
Iberian and Latin American Cultures
Sociology
Art & Art History
Political Science
Sociology
Graduate School of Education
Art & Art History
Graduate School of Education
Psychology
Graduate School of Education
Theater and Performance Studies
Comparative Literature
Classics
English
Psychology
Theater and Performance Studies
Graduate School of Education
Comparative Literature
Graduate School of Education
Art & Art History
French and Italian
Iberian and Latin American Cultures
Psychology
Religious Studies
Graduate School of Education

Current Courses

Autumn 2023

Autumn 2023

Title
Instructor
Quarter
Day, Time, Location

Grusky, D. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Tuesday Thursday
3:00 PM
4:20 PM

Ahmed, A. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Wednesday
12:30 PM
1:20 PM

Ramirez, B. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Tuesday Thursday
10:30 AM
11:50 AM

Ndegwa, J. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Monday Wednesday
10:30 AM
11:50 AM

CSRE 55M

Selznick, L. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Friday
2:30 PM
4:20 PM

Saldivar, J. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Tuesday Thursday
10:30 AM
11:50 AM

Wolfson, R. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Monday Wednesday
1:30 PM
2:50 PM

Yamazaki, J. (PI)
Markus, H. (PI)
Seyedi, Z. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Wednesday
12:30 PM
2:20 PM

Anderson, J. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Wednesday
11:30 AM
1:20 PM

Derbew, S. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Tuesday Thursday
12:00 PM
1:20 PM

Alhassen, M. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Thursday
3:00 PM
4:20 PM

Atura Bushnell, A. (PI)
Nielsen, N. (TA)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Thursday
3:00 PM
4:20 PM

Palumbo-Liu, D. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Tuesday Thursday
9:00 AM
10:20 AM

Grossman, J. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Wednesday
3:30 PM
5:20 PM

Atura Bushnell, A. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Wednesday
12:00 PM
1:20 PM

Palumbo-Liu, D. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Wednesday
11:30 AM
12:20 PM

Jaquith, A. (PI)
Kozleski, E. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Wednesday
1:30 PM
4:20 PM

Derbew, S. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Tuesday
3:00 PM
5:50 PM

Rosa, J. (PI)
Burgos, X. (TA)

2023 - 2024
Autumn

Tuesday
3:00 PM
5:50 PM
Winter 2024

Winter Courses

Title
Instructor
Quarter
Day, Time, Location

Palumbo-Liu, D. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Tuesday
3:00 PM
5:50 PM

Roberts, S. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Monday
9:30 AM
12:20 PM

Wilcox, M. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Tuesday Thursday
1:30 PM
2:50 PM

Murphy-Shigematsu, S. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Monday
1:30 PM
4:20 PM

Cortigiani, F. (TA)
Twitty, A. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Tuesday Thursday
1:30 PM
2:50 PM

CSRE 55M

Selznick, L. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Friday
2:30 PM
4:20 PM

Rosa, J. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Tuesday Thursday
3:00 PM
4:20 PM

Stone, P. (PI)
Morrison, K. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Monday Wednesday
3:00 PM
4:20 PM

Levine, S. (PI)
Phalen, L. (TA)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Thursday
9:30 AM
11:20 AM

Hahn Tapper, L. (PI)
Kokenis, T. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Hurd, C. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Tuesday
3:00 PM
4:20 PM

Cortigiani, F. (TA)
Twitty, A. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Tuesday Thursday
1:30 PM
2:50 PM

Robinson, A. (PI)
Montgomery, W. (TA)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Tuesday Thursday
11:30 AM
1:20 PM

Robinson, A. (PI)
Ryu, Z. (TA)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Tuesday Thursday
9:30 AM
11:20 AM

Diver, S. (PI)
Gupta, A. (SI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Tuesday Thursday
1:30 PM
2:50 PM

Jones, J. (PI)
Dunn, K. (TA)
Perez, A. (TA)
Levi, M. (PI)
Moya, P. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Monday
4:30 PM
7:00 PM

Salkin, W. (PI)
Valenzuela, C. (TA)
Jordan, S. (TA)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Monday Wednesday
1:30 PM
2:50 PM

Ramadan-Santiago, O. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Thursday
12:00 PM
2:50 PM

Jernigan, H. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Tuesday Thursday
1:30 PM
3:20 PM

Lum, K. (PI)
Mueller, J. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Tuesday Thursday
10:30 AM
11:50 AM

Jones, T. (TA)
Brody, J. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Tuesday
12:00 PM
2:50 PM

Jones, J. (PI)
Dunn, K. (TA)
Perez, A. (TA)
Levi, M. (PI)
Moya, P. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Monday
4:30 PM
7:00 PM

Seck, F. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Monday Wednesday
9:30 AM
10:50 AM

Fullwiley, D. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Wednesday
4:30 PM
7:20 PM

Moya, P. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Monday
12:30 PM
1:20 PM

Artiles, A. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Wednesday
11:30 AM
12:20 PM

Palumbo-Liu, D. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Wednesday
11:30 AM
12:20 PM

Seck, F. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Monday Wednesday
1:30 PM
2:50 PM

Banks, A. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Monday Wednesday
1:30 PM
2:50 PM

Charity Hudley, A. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Winter

Wednesday
2:30 PM
5:20 PM
Spring 2024

Spring Courses

Title
Instructor
Quarter
Day, Time, Location

Jones, T. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Wednesday Friday
9:30 AM
11:20 AM

Palumbo-Liu, D. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday Thursday
10:30 AM
11:50 AM

CSRE 55M

Selznick, L. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Friday
2:30 PM
4:20 PM

Campbell, J. (PI)
Harmse, K. (TA)
Ndegwa, J. (TA)
de Meira Borba, N. (TA)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday Thursday
9:00 AM
10:20 AM

Dinh, T. (PI)
Barahona, B. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday
12:00 PM
2:50 PM

Hernandez, G. (PI)
Hammerman, S. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Monday Wednesday
10:30 AM
11:50 AM

Stone, P. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Wednesday
1:30 PM
4:20 PM

Jean-Baptiste, R. (PI)
Crandall, M. (SI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday Thursday
9:00 AM
10:20 AM

Velazquez, M. (PI)
pearman, f. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday
9:00 AM
11:50 AM

Branfman, J. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Monday Wednesday
3:00 PM
4:20 PM

Wilcox, M. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday
6:00 PM
7:20 PM

Hodrick, C. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday Thursday
10:30 AM
11:50 AM

Diver, S. (PI)
Sanchez, S. (TA)
Moore, K. (TA)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday Thursday
1:30 PM
2:50 PM

Otalvaro, G. (PI)
Ho, V. (TA)
Feng, W. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Thursday
5:30 PM
7:20 PM

Lobo, K. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Monday Wednesday
4:30 PM
5:50 PM

Verghese, N. (PI)
Walker, A. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Monday Wednesday
10:30 AM
11:50 AM

Glasberg, R. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Monday Wednesday
11:30 AM
12:50 PM

Seck, F. (PI)
Yu, K. (TA)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Monday Wednesday
9:30 AM
10:50 AM

Kahan, M. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Monday Wednesday
3:30 PM
5:20 PM

Hurd, C. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Wednesday Friday
3:00 PM
4:20 PM

Costache, I. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday Thursday
9:00 AM
10:20 AM

Saperstein, A. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Monday Wednesday
3:00 PM
4:20 PM

Rosenfeld, M. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Monday Wednesday
11:30 AM
12:50 PM

Ross, R. (TA)
Chi, Y. (TA)
Lepp, H. (TA)
Fetterolf, E. (TA)
Christin, A. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday Thursday
12:00 PM
1:20 PM

RED-HORSE MOHL, V. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday Thursday
10:30 AM
11:50 AM

Palumbo-Liu, D. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Wednesday
1:30 PM
4:20 PM

Al-Saber, S. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Thursday
10:30 AM
1:20 PM

Campbell, J. (PI)
Harmse, K. (TA)
Ndegwa, J. (TA)
de Meira Borba, N. (TA)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday Thursday
9:00 AM
10:20 AM

Antonio, A. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Thursday
9:00 AM
11:50 AM

Asad, A. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday Thursday
9:00 AM
10:20 AM

Winterbottom, T. (PI)
Machado de Oliveira, M. (TA)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday Thursday
1:30 PM
2:50 PM

Banks, A. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Wednesday
3:30 PM
6:20 PM

Allen, S. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Wednesday
3:30 PM
6:20 PM

Rivera, A. (TA)
LaFromboise, T. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Wednesday
1:30 PM
4:20 PM

Cavalleiro, E. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Thursday
1:30 PM
4:20 PM

Hobbs, A. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday
1:30 PM
4:20 PM

Brody, J. (PI)
Montgomery, W. (TA)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Monday
1:30 PM
4:20 PM

McKibben, C. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday
1:30 PM
4:20 PM

Moya, P. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Thursday
1:30 PM
4:20 PM

Wilcox, M. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday
12:00 PM
1:20 PM

Artiles, A. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Banks, A. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Tuesday Thursday
9:00 AM
10:20 AM

Palumbo-Liu, D. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Wednesday
11:30 AM
12:20 PM

Hurd, C. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Wednesday Friday
3:00 PM
4:20 PM

Al-Saber, S. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Spring

Thursday
10:30 AM
1:20 PM
Summer 2024

Summer Courses

Title
Instructor
Quarter
Day, Time, Location

Jones, T. (PI)

2023 - 2024
Summer

Wednesday
1:30 PM
4:20 PM