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The Bachelor of Arts degree in Chicana/o Studies offers a curriculum that examines current and past experiences of Chicanas/os and other hemispheric Latina/o Americans whose origins exist south of the United States/Mexican and United States/Caribbean border. This degree places students at the center in the investigation of local issues in context with transborder questions through interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives. The core courses at the lower and upper division level will provide majors with a solid training in Chicana/o Studies while providing them the opportunity to minor or double major in a related disciplinary program.

The Minor in Chicana/o Studies affords students the opportunity to investigate the multi-dimensional culture of the Chicana/o Community in the United States. It is, by definition, interdisciplinary and seeks to provide students with a nuanced appreciation of the population. The minor offers non-majors the opportunity to investigate the historical complexities of societies and social movements and their legacies in the present.

Careers

The Chicana/o Studies major prepares students for careers in the private sector, education, government agencies, or non-profit organizations that serve communities with a significant population of people with origins from Mexico and other nations of Latin America.

Program Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the history and culture of people of Mexican and Latin American origins in the United States, specifically within the region of Southern California.
2. Analyze the literary, performative, and visual expressions of Chicanas/os and Latinas/os.
3. Distinguish variations within Chicana/o communities in respect to class, culture, ethnicity, gender, race, and sexuality.
4. Identify and discuss the major theoretical and conceptual questions informing Chicana/o Studies over time.
5. Summarize, explain, and apply social science methods for analyzing social, political, and economic phenomena relevant to the multicultural populations such as demographic trends, public policy, judicial systems, segregation, business practices, public health concerns, etc.
6. Effectively demonstrate competence in oral, written, and/or visual media to present research findings.

Contact Information

chicanostudies@csuci.edu

Faculty

Marie Francois, Ph.D., Director, University Experience
Title V Project ISLAS Activity Director, Professor of History
Sage Hall, Room 2141
(805) 437-3123
marie.francois@csuci.edu

José M. Alamillo, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Chicana/o Studies, Program Coordinator and Academic
Advisor for Chicana/o Studies
Sage Hall, Room 2125
(805) 437-2685
jose.alamillo@csuci.edu

Julia Balén, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English
Bell Tower West, Room 1112
(805) 437-8435
julia.balen@csuci.edu

Frank Barajas, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History
Sage Hall, Room 2037
(805) 437-8862
frank.barajas@csuci.edu

Renny Christopher, Ph.D., Professor of English
Bell Tower, Room 2165
(805) 437-8994
renny.christopher@csuci.edu

Stephen Clark, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Spanish
(805) 437-3317
stephen.clark@csuci.edu

Dennis Downey, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology
Sage Hall, Room 2127
(805) 437-3315
dennis.downey@csuci.edu

Elizabeth Hartung, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology
Sage Hall, Room 2043
(805) 437-3274
elizabeth.hartung@csuci.edu

Bradley Monsma, Ph.D., Professor of English
Bell Tower West, Room 1185
(805) 437-8948
brad.monsma@csuci.edu

Christy Teranishi-Martinez, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology
Sage Hall, Room 2035
(805) 437-3311
christy.teranishi@csuci.edu

Lillian Vega-Castaneda, Ed.D., Professor of Education
Bell Tower West, Room 2848
(805) 437-8872
lillian.castaneda@csuci.edu

Programs

• Chicana/o Studies, B.A.

• Chicana/o Studies Minor

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