Center for the Critical Study of Race and Ethnicity

The CCSRE provides the institutional structure, resources, and expertise necessary for initiating and sustaining critical and intersectional examinations of race, ethnicity, and social difference (e.g. gender, class, sexuality, caste, Indigeneity) in global contexts. It supports modes of teaching, research, and artistic expression that underscore the importance of critical theory and practice (praxis) in the academy and public life. The aim is to contribute to broader social and political projects that challenge existing relations of power in the interest of more just societies.

CCSRE Courses

The CCSRE aims to: 

1. Produce research/scholarship/artistic work through new and enhanced networks of scholars and artists.
2. Teach curricula that is reflective of the global reach of critical theory and the study of race, ethnicity and social difference.
3. Collaborate with other centers and programs nationally and internationally that focus on the critical study of race and ethnicity.
4. Serve as a locus of political action, organizing, and community building.
5. Enhance public discourse through the development of public scholars.

Learning Goals for the Center for the Critical Study of Race and Ethnicity

Building on several decades of scholarship that has pushed against the boundaries of traditional notions of knowledge production, the CCSRE offers an inter-, cross and anti-disciplinary approach to questions of power, difference, and social justice. Foundational themes are introduced in the gateway course AMS/HIS 206/EDU 223/CRE 209: Theorizing Race and Ethnicity. Additional cross-listed CRE courses are offered from faculty in history, French, sociology, Africana Studies, Latin American Studies and American studies. Students can also take many cross-listed classes in other departments. Students developing more independent projects involving the critical examination of race, ethnicity and social difference can register for CRE 393-2 in the fall and CRE 394-2 in the spring. Additional sections of CRE 393 and CRE 394 are also offered to cover special themes in race and ethnicity. The CCSRE is affiliated with the American studies program, Africana Studies, history, English, and education departments. The CCSRE encourages the creation of classes within the area of Critical Ethnic Studies (classes in any discipline that cover Latinx Studies, Africana Studies, Asian American Studies, Native American Studies). 

When CCSRE students graduate, they will be able to: 
 

1. Define major theoretical themes in the critical study of race, ethnicity and social difference
2. Critically write, think and communicate about the political, social and economic dynamics of race and ethnicity in global contexts
3. Analyze social movements organized around issues of justice and liberation
4. Understand the intersectional relationships among race, ethnicity and other forms of social difference
5. Understand how power and structural inequality shape experience
6. In addition to coursework, the learning outcomes are reinforced at the numerous CCSRE-sponsored events. CCSRE students are encouraged to attend lectures and workshops in order to reinforce what they have studied in class.