Ethnic Studies

Ethnic Studies at Edgewood College integrates multiple perspectives and disciplines to study the historical and contemporary experiences of African American, Latino American, Asian and Pacific American, and Native American peoples and other historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups in the United States within a global and postcolonial context.

Our curriculum promotes critical thinking, creative analysis, and civic engagement by examining issues of race and ethnicity as they intersect with class, gender, sexuality, religion, and nation. Combining academic excellence with a commitment to social justice, our interdisciplinary undergraduate major and minor prepare students for ethical leadership and personal fulfillment in an increasingly multicultural, transnational, and globalized society.

The program is administered by the Center for Multicultural Education in the School of Integrative Studies.

The goals of the program are for students to:

Develop knowledge and understanding of the historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. in their historical and cultural contexts, and their contributions to society


Articulate the ways in which racial categories and racialized experiences shape U.S. social life


Critically examine the intersections of race and ethnicity with class, gender, sexuality, religion, and nation in identity constructions


Understand and apply different conceptual approaches to race and ethnicity, including historical, literary, cultural, sociological, and others


Integrate academic inquiry and civic engagement, and reflect on one’s own role in building just, compassionate communities


Develop multicultural competence for lifelong learning.

For the Ethnic Studies fact sheet, please click here.

For the Ethnic Studies brochure, please click here.