Ethnic Studies, U.S.: Curriculum

The field of ethnic studies involves the study of various racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Although not an exhaustive list, the most common subfields within ethnic studies include African American/Black studies, Chicana/o studies (also called Raza studies or Mexican American studies), Asian American studies, Filipino studies, and Native American studies. The field was born out of student activism in the late 1960s, especially among institutions in the San Francisco Bay area, when Students of Color and female students demanded a curriculum that better reflected their own identities and communities. The first College of Ethnic Studies was created in 1969 at San Francisco State University following a 4-month-long student protest.