What is Ethnic Studies?
Ethnic Studies is the critical and interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity with a focus on the experiences and perspectives of Black, Indigenous, Pacific Islander, Latines, and Asian American communities within and beyond the United States. Since the creation of the field in the 1960s, scholars continue to analyze and explore the intersections of race, gender, class, status, identity, power, and resistance.
Students, led by the Black Student Union, staged a powerful sit-in at then college president Robert Wert's office resulting in Mills College being the first independent college to establish an Ethnic Studies program in 1969. It is this legacy, from the activism of students to the creation of the Ethnic Studies department to a former interdisciplinary department of Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, that undergirds anti-racism throughout the curriculum.
More on Ethnic Studies
Scholar OneSearch at Oakland
Search the catalog of the F. W. Olin LIbrary on the Oakland campus plus online articles, streaming media, and more.
Key Resources
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Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowScholarly, peer-reviewed articles and professional association publications, Abstracts and links to full text, about half are peer reviewed, covering all academic subjects including STEM fields.
Use this link if you want to include video clips (Opens in new window) from the Associated Press in your search results. -
Accessible Archives (History Commons) This link opens in a new windowAccessible Archives includes diverse primary source materials reflecting broad views of United States history and culture, especially African American history and women's history and historical newspapers. The date scope focuses on the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
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Ethnic NewsWatch (Proquest) This link opens in a new windowInterdisciplinary, bilingual (English and Spanish) full text newspapers, magazines and journals of American ethnic, minority and indigenous communities. Offers additional viewpoints from those proffered by the mainstream press.
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Sage Journals This link opens in a new windowJournals in full text published by Sage, emphasis on the social sciences.
