Course Descriptions

The following is a list of Ethnic Studies courses at Lane Community College. For those students interested in pursuing degrees with a focus in Ethnic Studies, there are many courses offered in alternating years from which to choose from. All Ethnic Studies course offerings fulfill both the Social Sciences Category of the AAOT, and the Ethnic/Gender/Cultural Diversity graduation requirements. A suggested course of study is not the same as a state-approved vocational program in which a student earns a degree or certificate issued by the LCC Board of Education, nor is it an Associate of Arts degree. For further information, contact Michael Sámano, Coordinator of Ethnic Studies, (541) 463-5186, samanom@lanecc.edu.

See the term schedule of classes for a list of available courses or the online catalog for full course descriptions.

ES 101: Historical Racial & Ethnic Issues

This course explores the nature and complexity of racial and ethnic diversity in U.S. society. Using current developments in ethnic studies scholarship, we will examine the social construction of race and ethnicity, theories of prejudice, and a historical overview of various ethnic and racial groups. The course concludes with a comparative analysis of the intersection between race, class, and gender.

ES 102: Contemporary Racial & Ethnic Issues

This course explores the nature and complexity of racial and ethnic diversity in U.S. society. Using current developments in ethnic studies scholarship, we will examine multiple sources of discrimination, and how discrimination impacts self and society. We will also review the contemporary experiences and issues facing various ethnic and racial groups. The course concludes with strategies for overcoming exclusion.

ES 211: Chicano/Latino Experience: Historical and Ideological Perspectives

This course focuses on the historical origins of the largest Latino population in the U.S. The course begins with an exploration of the consequences of contact between the different worldviews of Mesoamericans and Europeans, and examines how Mexican natives and mestizos came to be viewed as “foreigners” in their ancestral homeland. Throughout the course, we will review historical and contemporary indigenous cultural survival efforts.

ES 212 Chicano/Latino Experience: Political and Ideological Perspectives

This course examines the efforts of Mexican Americans to achieve equality and self-determination through the twentieth century. Special attention will be paid to the emergence of multiple ideological and culturally nationalistic social justice movements that evolved into a unifying “Chicano Movement” of the late 1960s and early 70s. Finally, we will explore the continuing evolution and emergence of contemporary Chicano/Latino social justice movements.

ES 213 Chicano/Latino Experience: Contemporary Identity and Cultural Issues

This course explores the historical and contemporary identity/cultural issues affecting the largest Latino communities in the United States. We will review theories of ethnic identity development, as well as the social and political construction of “race.” This course also examines how U.S. foreign policy in Latin America has influenced perceptions within and outside of the Latino community. Finally, we will review the use of pan-ethnic labels and their function in the construction of an all-encompassing “Hispanic Nation.”

ES 221: African American Experience: Down From the Pyramids, Up From Slavery 10,000 BCE - 1877

The focus of this course is on African, Afro-European, Afro-Native American, Caribbean, South and North American Maroon societies. In this course we examine various cultural constructs through which Africans in America understand and influence the world. The chronology of this course encompasses Dynastic Egypt, pre-European Conquest Africa, pre-Columbian America, to Post Reconstruction America 1877. ES 221, 222, and 223 examine culture, identity, gender and women’s roles, economics, and African and Native American responses to systematic oppression towards goals of individual and group liberation.

ES 222: African American Experience: Aspiration 1877 - 1945

This course examines African, Afro-European, Afro-Native American, and African-American contributions to various liberation movements in the Americas. We examine various cultural constructs through which Africans in the Americas understand and influence the world. The chronology of this course encompasses Post-Reconstruction America to the end of World War II. ES 221, 222, and 223 examine culture, identity, gender and women’s roles, economics, and African and Native American responses to systematic oppression towards goals of individual and group liberation.

ES 223: African American Experience: A Luta Continua: The Struggle Continues 1945 to the present

Contemporary African, Afro-European, Afro-Native American, Caribbean, and Africans in South and North America are examined in this course. The chronology of this course encompasses World War II to the present and confronts issues such as prison incarceration rates, the “War on Drugs,” Affirmative Action backlash, and Multiculturalism, as well as the cultural influences of gospel, jazz, rock and roll, and liberation movements. ES 221, 222, and 223 examine culture, identity, gender and women’s roles, economics, and African and Native American responses to systematic oppression towards goals of individual and group liberation.

ES 231: Asian American Experience: First and Second Generations

This course will focus primarily on the experiences of first- and second-generation Asian Pacific Americans through personal narratives, historical texts, documentaries, essays, and creative works. Material will cover a wide historical period, from the mid-1800s to the present, and will include the experiences of individuals from a number of different groups, comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences of their experiences.

ES 232: Asian American Experience: Social Movements of the 20th Century

Throughout the 20th century, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been discriminated against in various arenas (e.g., immigration, employment, political, education, housing, social, etc.). This course examines how Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have responded to institutional forms of oppressions. Students will read and discuss works of various Asian American writers, scholars, and political activists to place Asian American social movements within a larger context of U.S. history.

ES 233: Asian American Experience: Contemporary Issues in Asian America

Where and how do Asian Pacific Americans fit into contemporary U.S. society and culture? This course will examine current situations and issues faced by Asian Pacific Americans such as recent immigration trends, anti-Asian violence and anti-immigrant sentiment, the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, African American/Korean American conflict, LGBT issues, multiracial identities, and interracial marriage. This course will also examine contemporary cultural production by Asian Pacific Americans.

ES 241: Native American Experience: Consequences of Native American and European Contact

This course deals with Native Americans and Alaskan Native cultures and history, both prior to and immediately following, contact with Europeans during the past five hundred years. The course is divided into two general segments: First, the course will explore Native cultures in their traditional settings, before the arrival of outsiders. It surveys the great diversity of lifestyles, belief systems, languages, social and political structures, and creative expressions, which characterize the numerous tribal communities of the North American continent. Second, the course focuses on the major European encounters with native societies, beginning with the expedition of 1492 and extending into the Twentieth Century. The disparate responses and resistance strategies of various indigenous populations confronting the ideological and physical intrusion of Europeans is studied.

ES 242 Native American Experience: Nineteenth Century Federal-Indian Relations

This course focuses on nineteenth century United States and Canadian federal-native relations. In the nineteenth century, the United States and Canadian federal governments took different yet similar paths in how they dealt with the sovereign Native peoples within their borders. While no single course can adequately deal with the complexity of the subject matter surveyed, it is organized to help understand the public policies and events shaping tribal life in North America during this period. In the nineteenth century, paternalistic attitudes held by the dominant culture, created federal government policies whose effects can still be found today in the lived experiences of Native Americans.

ES 243 Native American Experience: Contemporary Native American Issues

This course explores contemporary relationships between the United States government, Native Americans, Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiians. Particular attention is paid to tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, land and resource ownership and use, religious and identity renewal, Native American political activism, education, and social and economic issues in contemporary rural and urban Native America. This course also focuses on various positive interactions and alliance-building relationships between Native Americans, the dominant society, and other groups of people of color in the U.S.

ES 250 - Class, Race and Gender in the US Economy

Course Description:

This course examines the economic causes of social stratification within the labor market, based upon class, race and gender. Topics include: earnings and employment disparities; uneven poverty rates; differential access to housing, health, and education; and economic discrimination. This course examines how the market both enables and obstructs various social groups in their participation in the promise of the 'American Dream'. Presented from a political-economy perspective recognizing that economic discrimination is both a measurable and enduring characteristic of market economies.

See the term schedule of classes for a list of available courses or the online catalog for full course descriptions.