Introduction to Critical Ethnic Studies Research Guide
About Ethnic Studies:
"Ethnic studies is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary field that critically interrogates questions of power and race/ethnicity, historically and presently. It centers generative questions about the changing meaning of race/ethnicity across space and time. Ethnic studies, furthermore, examines how dominant, interlocking structures of domination—white supremacy, capitalism, (hetero)patriarchy, and other systems—inform the everyday experiences of aggrieved communities. Beyond simply contributing to new academic literature on underrepresented histories and experiences, the field of ethnic studies aims to produce transformative academic knowledge by demonstrating the way power operates, problematizing dominant discourses, and providing alternative understandings of social phenomena. Challenging notions of “objectivity” and “universality” in the social sciences, ethnic studies produces academic knowledge from multiple vantage points (Fong, 2008)."
Jacob Lawrence The migration gained in momentum 1940-41
Terminology: Critical Ethnic Studies vs Ethnic Studies
Critical Ethnic Studies is a combination of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies "that challenges US hegemony in traditional Ethnic Studies, acknowledges other genealogies of antiracist and decolonial thinking and struggle, and moves towards thinking and acting in ways that are transnational and at the service of multiple local struggles". -- (Taken from the CESA Mission)
Critical Ethnic Studies focuses of systemic racism and systems of oppression and the movements in dismantling these systems with the goal of expanding the field of Ethnic Studies.
Key Resources
- Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new windowIndexes US ethnic and minority publications; with full text.
Dates Covered: 1960-present. - Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowIndexes journals in the social sciences, humanities, general science, multicultural studies and education.
Dates Covered: 1887-present.
Extent: Multidisciplinary - JSTOR This link opens in a new windowThe full text of more than 2,000 journals in business, social sciences, science, and the humanities. Searchable and browsable by date.
Extent: Multidisciplinary - Academic Video Online This link opens in a new windowDelivers more than 67,000 video titles spanning the widest range of subject areas including anthropology, business, counseling, film and more. AVON includes every kind of video material available with curricular relevance: documentaries, interviews, performances, news programs and newsreels, field recordings, commercials, and raw footage. Users will find thousands of award-winning films, including Academy®, Emmy®, and Peabody® winners as well as the most frequently used films for classroom instruction, plus newly released films and previously unavailable archival material.
