California Cultures in Comparative Perspective Minor

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223 Social Sciences Building
(858) 534-1739

All courses, faculty listings, and curricular and degree requirements described herein are subject to change or deletion without notice.

The Minor

The California Cultures in Comparative Perspective minor allows students to better understand California’s place in the global community and in history. Students can learn about the impact of language, immigration, market forces, the arts, politics and culture, music, and globalization in the past, present, and future of California.

The California cultures minor will be a core component in a broader, cutting-edge interdisciplinary program that encourages research, teaching, and collaboration among faculty, students, and the public to explore the broad implications of the history and current growth of the state of California’s immigrant and ethnic populations. This minor is a university-wide interdisciplinary initiative that integrates faculty across a range of departments who all share a common focus on the people, economies, and cultures of California.

The minor in California cultures in comparative perspective is administered by the program director. The minor helps students prepare for careers in the legal, governmental, corporate, and nonprofit sectors that service socially, culturally, and economically diverse populations. The minor concentration in California cultures would also allow undergraduate students to enroll in courses focusing on racial/ethnic populations in the United States and the border region, from departments across the social sciences and humanities.

Minor Requirements

California cultures minor requirements include lower- and upper-division courses from departments in the social sciences and the arts and humanities. Alternatively, minor requirements may be fulfilled with course work in conjunction with internships at local and community-based organizations. Requirements are as follows:

Students will be required to take one lower-division course from the following list. These courses will provide them with background on California cultures and race/ethnicity in the US.

ANTH 23. Debating Multiculturalism: Race, Ethnicity, and Class in American Societies (4)

ETHN 1. Introduction to Ethnic Studies: Land and Labor (4)

ETHN 2. Introduction to Ethnic Studies: Circulations of Difference (4)

ETHN 3. Introduction to Ethnic Studies: Making Culture (4)

HILD 7A. Race and Ethnicity in the United States (4)

HILD 7B. Race and Ethnicity in the United States (4)

HILD 7C. Race and Ethnicity in the United States (4)

USP 3. The City and Social Theory (4)

Students will be required to take one upper-division course (HIUS 114. California History or ETHN 118. Contemporary Immigration Issues). These courses will provide students with broad coverage of the various social, economic, cultural, and political aspects of California’s changing population dynamics and how these relate to transnational trends as well.

Students will be allowed to complete the minor (twenty more required units) by pursuing one of two separate tracks:

Track 1: Additional Course Work

Students can choose to take five additional courses from the following list, four of which must be upper division. These courses generally provide students with in-depth coverage of specialized topics in California cultures and/or race, immigration, urban studies. They may not take more than three courses from any one department.

COMM 114. Bilingual Communication (4)

COMM 115. Education and Global Citizenship (4)

CGS 2A. Introduction to Critical Gender Studies. Social Movements (4)

ECON 135/USP 102. Urban Economics (4)

ETHN 1A. Introduction to Ethnic Studies: Population Histories of the United States (4) (if not taken as a required course above)

ETHN 1B. Introduction to Ethnic Studies: Immigration and the Transformation of American Life (4) (if not taken as a required course above)

ETHN 1C. Introduction to Ethnic Studies: Race and Ethnic Relations in the United States (4) (if not taken as a required course above)

ETHN 109. Race and Social Movements (4)

ETHN 111. Native American Literature (4)

ETHN 116. The United States-Mexico Border in Comparative Perspective. (4)

ETHN 118. Contemporary Immigration Issues (4)

ETHN 121. Contemporary Asian American History (4)

ETHN 123. Asian American Politics (4)

ETHN 129. Asian and Latina Immigrant Workers in the Global Economy (4)

ETHN 130. Social and Economic History of the Southwest I (4)

ETHN 132. Chicano Dramatic Literature (4)

ETHN 136. Topics in Chicano/a-Latino/a Cultures (4)

ETHN 148. Latino/a and Chicano/a Literature (4)

ETHN 144. Bilingual Communities in the USA (4)

ETHN 149. African American History in the Twentieth Century (4)

ETHN 160. Black Politics and Protest in the Early Twentieth Century (1895–1941) (4)

ETHN 161. Black Politics and Protest since 1941 (4)

ETHN 164. African Americans and the Mass Media (4)

ETHN 168. Comparative Ethnic Literature (4)

HIUS 108/ETHN 112A. History of Native Americans in the United States (4)

HIUS 114. California History (4)

HIUS 117. History of Los Angeles (4)

HIUS 124. Asian American History (4)

HIUS 158. Social and Economic History of the Southwest I (4)

HIUS 159. Social and Economic History of the Southwest II (4)

HIUS 180. Immigration and Ethnicity in Modern American Society (4)

LTEN 28. Introduction to Asian American Literature: Race and Modernity (4)

LTAM 108. Intellectual and Political Traditions: The Chicano Movement, 1965–1975 (4)

MUS 13AM. World Music/Multicultural America (4)

POLI 100H. Race and Ethnicity in American Politics (4)

POLI 100J. Race in American Political Development (4)

POLI 150A. Politics of Immigration (4)

SOCI 114. Culture and Ethnicity (4)

SOCI 151. Comparative Race and Ethnic Relations (4)

TDHT 110. Chicano Dramatic Literature (4)

USP 105/SOCI 153. Urban Sociology (4)

USP 107/POLI 102E. Urban Politics (4)

USP 109/POLI 103A. California Government and Politics (4)

USP 113/POLI 103B. Politics and Policymaking in L.A. (4)

USP 115. Politics and Policymaking in San Diego (4)

USP 136/SOCI 148M. Labor Market Inequality in Los Angeles and the Border Region (4)

USP 165. History of the American Suburb (4)

USP 166. History of San Diego (4)

USP 171. Sustainable Development (4)

USP 172. Planning/Policymaking: U.S.-Mexican Border (4)

VIS 126CN. Art of the North American Indians (4)

VIS 126DN. African and Afro-American Art (4)

Track 2: Internship Opportunities

Students who choose Track 2 will be able to gain a greater depth of knowledge and appreciation for the California cultures curriculum by applying themselves in an academic or community-based setting. The California cultures in comparative perspective staff has established relationships with several institutions and organizations on and off campus in the San Diego area and other parts of the state, to provide undergraduates firsthand experience at applying themselves and engaging in collaborative efforts and service with a network of practitioners. Internships are to be arranged by the Academic Internship Program for up to eight units. The remaining units needed to complete the internship track will consist of upper-division courses from the list under Track 1.