![]() New categories of difference are being added periodically, including disability (one of the latest disciplinary trends in ethnic studies). These socially constructed categories play significant roles in every human society, and ethnic studies is now an expanding global discipline. Race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexual orientation are social constructs, but they are not limited to the American experience. We need the right tools to unravel the often-messy reality that surrounds us, and by focusing on these socially constructed categories that lie at the heart of the American experience, we can understand how we got here.Įven though ethnic studies as a discipline was born in the USA, the reach of its analytical tools is global. They reflect us as a nation, our complexity, and our divisions. These tough issues are the everyday staple of ethnic studies. Because it has always been!Īre we still talking about race? I do not think we should ever stop. It is no accident that immigration is such a hotly debated topic. By looking at the role played by race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexual orientation in American society, ethnic studies provides a critical lens to examine and contextualize what is happening right now-and why it is happening. Of how we have become this great nation (with warts and all), of the obstacles we have overcome to get to this point, and of the challenges that-as a nation-we still face. We are exceptional-except when we are not.Įthnic studies is the history of us. The country that fought Nazism and fascism imprisoned its own citizens. The nation built by immigrants decided to keep thousands out because they did not seem suitable to be Americans. Forty-five presidents later, and we have yet to elect a woman into the highest office. The same bold social experiment that declared all men to be equal in an “unprecedented” Declaration of Independence, kept mum about the inhumane institution of slavery. The United States of America is an exceptional paradox. How did we get to this point? What lies ahead? What do we make sense of all of this (before our heads explode)? If you keep asking yourself these questions (or variations of them), ethnic studies has the answers. The news media keeps referring to them as “unprecedented.” They have dominated the news cycle of the past couple of years and have become staples of our popular discourse. ![]() Unless you have been living under a rock, these terms should be quite familiar to you (and for a good reason).
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