Ethnic Studies

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Introduction

Ethnic Studies centers the histories, epistemologies and lived experiences of minoritized peoples and Indigenous nations. Our approach is intersectional and transnational. Ethnic Studies courses challenge systems of power and oppression, and advance liberation, emancipation, and self-determining futures. Students critically analyze differences in power expressed by the state, civil society, and individuals. Students challenge social constructions of race, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, and gender. Ethnic Studies stresses the unique perspectives, contributions, and knowledges of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and other minoritized communities. This program of study also prepares our students to do collaborative and ethical research.

Mission Statement

The Department of Ethnic Studies strives to nurture an interdisciplinary and transformative learning environment for students by providing tools to critically assess their lived experience and centering knowledge produced by Black, Indigenous, Queer, and diasporic communities of resistance. Core concerns that we explore are colonialism, imperial circuits of migration, border imperialism, the carceral state, social movements, and resistance. Interdisciplinary and intersectional approaches emphasized in our program include community-led research, literary criticism, critical discourse analysis, political economy, empirical methods, narrative production.

Faculty

LOURDES GUTIERREZ NÁJERA Chair and Associate Professor. BA, University of California, Los Angeles; MA, MSW, PhD, University of Michigan.
ANDY AGUILERA Assistant Professor. BA Seattle University; MA, PhD, University of Michigan
NADA ELIA Associate Professor. BA Lebanese American University; MA American University, Beirut; PhD, Purdue University.
AMANDA WAGGONER Assistant Professor, BA, MA, University of Mary Washington.
MÓTANKÁSUA WELLS Visiting Assistant Professor, MA University of Hawaii.
JANE WONG Associate Professor. BA. ; MFA, University of Iowa; PhD, University of Washington.

Advisory Board

KIMI BRYSON-REILLY Assistant Profsesor of Black Feminist Studies. M.A., Yale Divinity School; PhD, Rutgers University.
DOLORES CALDERÓN Director of Education and Social Justice and Professor. BA, Vassar College; JD, Texas Tech University School of Law; PhD, University of California Los Angeles. 
​FELICIA COSEY Assistant Professor of English. B.A.
VICKI HSUEH Professor of Political Science. BA, Williams College; MA, PhD, Johns Hopkins University.
A. LONGORIA Chair of Secondary Education and Associate Professor. BA, San Francisco State University; MA, Seattle University; PhD, University of Washington, Seattle. 
ANA CECILIA LÓPEZ Associate Professor and Director of Law, Diversity, and Justice Program. BA, Western Washington University, Fairhaven College; JD, University of Washington Law School.
PAQUI PAREDES MÉNDEZ Professor of Spanish. MA, PhD, University of Kansas.
PETER PIHOS Interim Fairhaven Dean and Associate Professor of History. AB, Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges; MA, New York University; PhD, University of Pennsylvania.
CASKEY CHRISTOPHER RUSSELL Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies. BA, Western Washington University; MA, Western Washington University; PhD, University of Oregon.
RAE LYNN SCHWARTZ-DUPRE Chair and Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. BA, University of Vermont; MA, Wake Forest University; PhD, University of Iowa.
TAMARA SPIRA Associate Professor. BA, Oberlin College; MA, PhD, University of California Santa Cruz.
MIDORI TAKAGI Professor. BA, Oberlin College; MA, American University; MPhil, PhD, Columbia University.

Declaration Process

The department welcomes students interested in Ethnic Studies to schedule an advising appointment to learn more about the major and minors.

To declare in Ethnic Studies, a student should have successfully completed ETHN 201 and have met with an advisor to work together through the graduation requirements.

When you are ready to declare: 

• Fill out section 1 of the Student Academic Declaration & Change Form.  
• Enter the email address Ethnic.studies@wwu.edu at the bottom, then click “submit.” 
• Schedule an appointment with your advisor by emailing Ethnic.studies@wwu.edu. 

Programs

• Ethnic Studies, BA

• Black Studies Minor
• Latinx Studies Minor
• Native and Indigenous Studies Minor

Courses

Courses numbered X37; X97; 300, 400, 500 are described in the University Academic Policies  section of this catalog.

• ETHN 201 - Introduction to Ethnic Studies
• ETHN 202 - Introduction to Native and Indigenous Studies
• ETHN 203 - Introduction to Latinx Studies
• ETHN 204 - Introduction to Black Studies
• ETHN 205 - Introduction to Asian American Studies
• ETHN 252 - Introduction to Arab American Studies
• ETHN 301 - Ethnic Studies Theory
• ETHN 302 - Ethnic Studies Research Methods
• ETHN 310 - Contemporary Asian American Studies
• ETHN 314 - Latinx Migrants in the U.S.
• ETHN 315 - Contemporary Native and Indigenous Studies
• ETHN 316 - Contemporary Black Studies
• ETHN 317 - Contemporary Latinx Studies
• ETHN 318 - Contemporary Arab American Studies
• ETHN 319 - Indigenous Feminisms
• ETHN 321 - Policing, Incarceration, Abolition
• ETHN 413 - Bridging Barriers with Migrant Youth
• ETHN 499 - Ethnic Studies Capstone

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