With a minor 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.
The minor in 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 minor 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 minor in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, you will need to complete 20 credits. These include courses from several disciplines participating in the minor, with required exposure to at least three different disciplines.
- Eight of the credits toward the minor will be 2000-level or above.
- Courses will be listed with a Critical Race and Ethnic Studies attribute, with the expectation that at least two-thirds of the course content engages with the study of race and ethnicity.
See the Critical Race and Ethnic Studies program page for full degree requirements.
Featured Courses
COMN 2220
Race and Popular Culture
About this Course
This course examines trajectories of representations of race in popular culture (i.e., film, music television), both produced by the dominant culture, as well as self-produced by various racial and ethnic groups. Through a historical perspective, we trace images in popular culture and how those images are tied to contemporary events of the time. We pay particular attention not only to the specific archetypes that exist, but also how those archetypes are nuanced or colored differently through the lenses of ethnicity, nationality, race, class, gender and sexuality. This course counts toward the Analytical Inquiry: Society and Culture requirement
MFJS 3242
Reel Women
About this Course
Reel Women explores films from the U.S., England, Senegal, India, Canada, Colombia and Saudi Arabia that are made for, about, and/or by women with the aim of better understanding and centralizing issues pertinent to women’s daily lives across the world.
SOCI 2370
Micropolitics of Race
About this Course
This class explores racialized experiences and controversies that affect daily life in the United States. We use insights from sociology to analyze racial identity and public behavior. For example, why do many people of color often “code-switch” as they move from interacting with family and friends and into their workplace? Why are some black people accustomed to giving “the nod” to other black people they encounter in majority-white spaces? Why are many native-born Asian-Americans told that they “speak really good English” (what sociologists would call a microaggression)? We also explore controversies, including interracial dating, gentrification, “transracial” individuals, and Elizabeth Warren’s Native American identity claims. We will situate our analyses of the everyday politics of race within institutional and structural racism.
Engage intersectional and cross-disciplinary study with the Critical Race and Ethnic Studies minor.
Are you ready to learn more about Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at DU?
