With a BA in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, you'll examine race and ethnicity in social, political and cultural contexts that are both contemporary and historical. Our dynamic courses unpack race relations both in the U.S. and globally. Throughout your studies, you're encouraged to build on critical theory in the classroom by practicing ethically engaged citizenship.
A deep understanding of race and ethnicity studies provides excellent training for careers in areas like business and law, education, journalism and the arts, social work and nonprofits, government and public policy agencies, and science and technology fields. We also offer a minor in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies.
Critical race and ethnicity studies at DU offers:
A multidisciplinary approach that allows you to engage topics across different fields of study
Opportunities for internships, service-learning courses and study abroad courses to count toward the degree with advisor approval
Exploration of race and ethnicity as active social, political, historical and cultural processes
Intersectional perspectives that explore how race and ethnicity connect with other identities, such as gender, sexuality, class, religion, national origin and citizenship
Degree Requirements
- To major in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies you will need to complete 40 credits, including four required courses and at least 24 courses of electives with the Critical Race and Ethnic Studies attribute.
- Eight of the elective credits must be cross-listed with the Arts or Humanities and eight of the elective credits must be cross-listed with the Social Sciences. The final eight elective credits can come from an internship, study abroad, or can be any course with a Critical Race and Ethnic Studies attribute that does not duplicate your other major courses.
- To complete a minor in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies you will complete 20 credits. The courses are required to be from a minimum of three disciplines, and eight of the credits must be at level 2000 or above.
See the DU Bulletin for full degree requirements.
Featured Courses
ARAB 1351
Tales from the Arabian Nights: Readings Across Time and Space
About this Course
The Tales of the Arabian Nights provide a unique platform for the discussion of current issues such as orientalism, stereotyping, and gender discrimination. In this course, we will select a handful of stories to serve as a catalyst for inquiry to show how this shared narrative passed on from generation to generation, has contributed to the creation of an ‘exotic’ East invented by the colonial West. We will show that the Middle East, like the rest of the world, is in a state of flux and the text is not a historical account of the medieval Arab world and cannot be viewed a-historically. We will unveil all the stereotypes that have been subtly, or not so subtly, implanted in the mind of the West through an often-erroneous portrayal of the Arab world.
MFJS 3214
Representational Issues in U.S. Film
About this Course
This course explores the varying ways that race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, physical and mental (dis)ability, and age are represented in and by film — both historically and culturally. This course will encourage students to think critically about the filmic images that they are consuming on a regular basis, as means to interrogate what is at stake when it comes to representational issues such as dominant ideologies, visual style, and assigned character roles.
SOCI 2622
Deportation Nation
About this Course
Students in this course engage in a scholarly analysis situated in the historical, social and political processes that have informed contemporary immigration law and policy, particularly the shift to enhanced enforcement, detention and mass deportation. This requires an examination of neoliberalism and its relationship to global migration, primarily from Latin America, but other countries as well. Students connect theory to lived experience through community-engaged learning at Casa de Paz, a center which offers food, shelter, transportation and support to immigrants who have been released from detention. Ultimately, students will leave the course with a nuanced perspective about the structural and global forces guiding these developments, and understand why some describe the U.S. not as a country of laws or immigrants but as a deportation nation.
Engage intersectional and cross-disciplinary study with Critical Race and Ethnic Studies.
Are you ready to learn more about Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at DU?
