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The Ethnic, Gender, and Labor Studies major examines how communities form and are transformed, with a focus on the relationship between social class, race and ethnicity, and gender. This major has a special focus on African-Americans, Latino/as, Native Americans, Asian Americans, the multiracial working class, and Women and Gender Studies.
Through a wide variety of courses in the social sciences and humanities, students explore historical roots of various communities and analyze movements to facilitate labor and community organizing, coalition building, conflict resolution, group empowerment, and movements for social change.
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The Labor Studies option offers courses on the experience of work and workers in modern market economies. Courses focus on the political, economic and social developments that shape working life, along with workers' impact on society. Topics include unions and the labor movement, social class and inequality, the changing nature of work, international political economy and workplace culture. Labor Studies takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding these issues and emphasizes the connections between race, class, and gender in an economic context.
The Gender Studies option offers courses that focus on gender roles and gender identity from a variety of theoretical approaches. These courses not only investigate the concepts of gender and sexuality, but also explore the ways in which these concepts intersect with such diverse phenomena as society, politics, literature, globalization, music, economics, art, poverty, communication, race, film, work, and popular culture. Gender Studies includes Women's Studies, Men's Studies, and Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Studies and emphasizes interdisciplinary scholarship.
The Ethnic Studies Option allows students the opportunity to study race and ethnicity through an interdisciplinary lens. Students interested in this option take courses using an ethnic specific approach (i.e. African American, Chicano/Latino, Asian American, Native American), as well as courses using a comparative approach to examining the contributions of people from diverse racial and ethnic groups to various areas of study including economics, gender studies, history literature, politics, and sociology within global and local contexts.
Degree Requirements
For Ethnic, Gender, and Labor Studies, you need to complete 60 credits. You must earn a total of 180 quarter credits, or 225 quarter credits for a double degree, in order to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in your chosen major.
For questions about this major, contact an academic advisor, or the Ethnic, Gender, and Labor Studies major coordinators, Associate Teaching Professor Margaret Griesse and Associate Professor Emily Ignacio.
NEW ETHNIC, GENDER AND LABOR STUDIES COURSE LISTS (EFFECTIVE BEGINNING SPRING 2019)
- 10 credits; both courses:
- 5 credits; choose one of:
- 5 credits; choose one of:
- TEGL 112 Introduction to Indigenous Studies
- TEGL 202 Introduction to Contemporary American Indian Issues
- THIST 220 African-American History 1619-1865
- THIST 221 African-American History 1865-1945
- THIST 222 African-American History 1945-present
- THIST 320 Asian-American History
- TLAX 238 Latinos in the United States (formerly THISP 238)
- TLIT 320 African American Literature from Slavery to Present
- TSOC 265 Race and Ethnicity in the U.S.
- TSOC 270 Introduction to Asian America
- 5 credits; choose one of:
- TEGL 210 Introduction to Qualitative Research and Ethics
- TEGL 401 Critical and Indigenous Methodologies
- THIST 437 Doing Community History
- TSOC 439 Fieldwork and Interviewing in Communities
- TSOC 460 Demographic Methods: Analyzing Race, Class, and Gender
- TSOC 470 Qualitative Research: Inquiry and Methods
- TWOMN 302 Research Methods in Women Studies
To fulfill this option, you must take three courses from the list below, as well as two additional courses from the Gender Studies option (List C) and two additional courses from the Ethnic Studies option (List D).
- TARTS 406 Labor, Globalization and Art
- TCOM 444 Gender, Ethnicity, Class and the Media
- TECON 320 Gender and Development
- TECON 370 Economics and Social Mobility
- TECON 450 Labor Economics and Policy
- TEGL 266 Introduction to Labor Studies (formerly TSOC 266)
- TEGL 435 Migration and the Modern World (formerly TSOC 435)
- TGEOG 349 Geography and International Trade
- THIST 322 American Labor Since the Civil War
- THIST 413 Civil Rights, Civil Liberties
- THIST 440 Black Labor in America
- TLAX 290 Latinx Social Movements
- TPOLS 270 Introduction to Political Economy
- TPOLS 329 Making of Modern Africa
- TPOLS 343 Community and Labor Organizing: A Multicultural Perspective (formerly TPOLS 456)
- TPOLS 410 Labor Rights & Human Rights
- TPSYCH 320 Race, Class and Gender Contexts of Child Development
- TSOC 335 Social Class and Inequality
- TSOC 434 Women, Race and Class
- TSOC 437 Immigration Today
- TSOC 460 Demographic Methods: Analyzing Race, Class and Gender
- TSOC 465 Asian and Asian American Laborers in the U.S.: Citizenship, Immigrant Rights, and the Welfare State
- TSOC 470 Qualitative Research: Inquiry and Methods
- TWOMN 345 Women and Work in the United States
- TWOMN 420 Women and the Global Economy
To fulfill this option, you must take three courses from the list below, as well as two additional courses from the Labor Studies option (List B) and two additional courses from the Ethnic Studies option (List D).
- TAMST 260 Introduction to Queer Studies
- TAMST 430 Queer Performances
- TARTS 360 Women Artists from the Renaissance to the Present
- TCOM 444 Gender, Ethnicity, Class and the Media
- TECON 320 Gender and Development
- TEGL 301 Introduction to Indigenous Women and Feminism
- TEGL 310 Intersectional Feminisms
- TEGL 340 Race, Gender and Sexuality in a Global Perspective
- TEGL 380 Gender and Sexuality Across Cultural and Historical Contexts
- TFILM 436 Feminist Perspectives in Film and Literature
- TFILM 438 Gender and Sexuality in Film
- TGEOG 352 Cultural Geography
- TGEOG 420 Gender, Space and Culture
- TLAW 348 Gender and Law (formerly TPOLS 438)
- TLAX 380 Latinx Sexualities
- TLAX 462 Women in Latin America (formerly THISP 462)
- TLIT 324 African American Women's Literature
- TLIT 388 Cross Cultural Studies in Women's Literature
- TLIT 431 Contemporary Native American Women's Literature
- TLIT 476 American Women's Lit: 19th & 20th Century
- TPSYCH 202 Human Sexuality
- TPSYCH 320 Race, Class and Gender Contexts of Child Development
- TPSYCH 349 Sexual Identities
- TPSYCH 400 Psychology of Women
- TPSYCH 403 Psychology of Black Women
- TPSYCH 431 Sexual Deviance
- TPSYCH 432 Sex Crimes and Sexual Violence
- TSOC 434 Women, Race and Class
- TSOC 437 Immigration Today
- TSOC 455 Sociology of Gender
- TSOC 460 Demographic Methods: Analyzing Race, Class and Gender
- TSOC 470 Qualitative Research: Inquiry and Methods
- TSOCWF 354 Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
- TURB 314 Gender and the Urban Landscape
- TWOMN 101 Introduction to Women's Studies
- TWOMN 205 Introduction to Masculinities
- TWOMN 211 Women in Science (formerly TEST 211)
- TWOMN 250 Seminar in Service Learning: A Feminist Approach
- TWOMN 251 Gender and Popular Culture
- TWOMN 302 Feminist Research Methods
- TWOMN 345 Women and Work in the United States
- TWOMN 347 History of Women in the United States
- TWOMN 420 Women in the Global Economy
- TWOMN 434 Women’s Voices: Transnational Testimonials
- TWOMN 455 Contemporary Theories in Gender and Sexuality Studies
To fulfill this option, you must take three courses from the list below, as well as two additional courses from the Labor Studies option (List B) and two additional courses from the Gender Studies option (List C).
- TEGL 112 Introduction to Indigenous Studies
- TEGL 201 Introduction to Indigenous Philosophy
- TEGL 202 Introduction to Contemporary American Indian Issues
- TEGL 210 Introduction to Qualitative Methodology and Research Methods
- TEGL 271 American Indians in Film
- TEGL 301 Introduction to Indigenous Women and Feminism
- TEGL 302 Tribal Critical Race Theory and Critical Race Theory
- TEGL 303 Introduction to American Indian Education
- TEGL 304 Indigenous Ethnoecology
- TEGL 305 American Indian Movement
- TEGL 340 Race, Gender and Sexuality in a Global Perspective
- TEGL 365 Indigenous Ethnobiology
- TEGL 380 Gender and Sexuality Across Cultural and Historical Contexts
- TEGL 401 Critical and Indigenous Methodologies
- TEGL 419 African-American Culture and Consciousness (formerly THIST 419)
- TEGL 435 Migration in the Modern World: Migrants, Immigrants and Refugees (formerly TSOC 435)
- TEGL 464 Indigenous Health, Political Ethnoecology and Governance
- TEGL 498 Study Abroad: Intersections
- THIST 220 African American History 1619-1865
- THIST 221 African American History 1865-1945
- THIST 222 African American History 1945-present
- THIST 320 Asian American History
- THIST 341 African-American History
- THIST 349 Minorities and Higher Education in American History
- THIST 413 Civil Rights, Civil Liberties
- THIST 416 Life and Thought: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Angela Davis
- THIST 420 African American Religious History
- THIST 440 Black Labor in America
- THIST 441 Black Freedom Movement in Perspective
- THIST 457 Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust
- THIST 495 The Metropolis
- TLAW 452 Minorities in the Law (formerly TPOLS 452)
- TLAX 238 Latinos in the United States (formerly THISP 238)
- TLAX 250 Images of Latinos/as in the Movies (formerly THISP 250)
- TLAX 267 Introduction to Chicano/a Literature (formerly THISP 267)
- TLAX 290 Latinx Social Movements
- TLAX 333 US Latino Histories
- TLAX 340 Transnationalism, Religion and Differences in Las Americas
- TLAX 355 Migration and Transnational Family in Latino Literature and Film (formerly THISP 355)
- TLAX 356 Latinx Urban Communities
- TLAX 360 Latinx Performance Histories
- TLAX 380 Latinx Sexualities
- TLAX 400 Afro-Hispanic Culture (formerly THISP 400)
- TLAX 476 Latin American Women Writers (formerly THISP 476)
- TLIT 230 Multi Ethnic American Literature
- TLIT 320 African American Literature from Slavery to the Present
- TLIT 324 African American Women’s Literature
- TLIT 331 Immigrant and Ethnic Literature
- TLIT 332 Asian American Literature
- TLIT 335 Middle Eastern American Literature
- TLIT 425 Literature of the Harlem Renaissance
- TLIT 431 Contemporary Native American Women's Literature
- TLIT 432 American Indian Literature
- TLIT 433 Native American Literature and Federal Indian Law
- TPOLS 317 The Politics of Race and Ethnicity in the United States
- TPSYCH 320 Race, Class and Gender Contexts of Child Development
- TPSYCH 461 Asian American Psychology
- TSOC 265 Race and Ethnicity in the US
- TSOC 270 Introduction to Asian America
- TSOC 365 Advanced Sociological Theories of Race and Ethnicity
- TSOC 434 Women, Race and Class
- TSOC 460 Demographic Methods: Analyzing Race, Class and Gender
- TSOC 465 Asian and Asian American Laborers in the U.S.: Citizenship, Immigrant Rights and the Welfare State
- TSOC 470 Qualitative Research: Inquiry and Methods
- TWRIT 340 Asian American Rhetorics, Literacies, and Activism
- TURB 312 Race and Poverty in Urban America
Need to view previous year degree requirements? Requirements effective Winter 2017. Requirements effective Fall 2016.
Career Options
Combined with internships, independent studies and seminars, EGL graduates are well-prepared to pursue a range of careers in private and public employment, in community organizations, non-profit and human resource management, and in business and labor unions.
This major also prepares students for graduate studies in law, criminal justice, education, public administration, social work, in fields of human rights, urban policy, history, sociology, political science and anthropology.
Learning outcomes
As a student in Ethnic, Gender, and Labor Studies, you will develop the following skills:
- Learn to assess socially meaningful identities in a variety of cultural and critical contexts, and to communicate across social boundaries in a multi-cultural world.
- Learn how to integrate and link ethnic, gender and labor studies.
- Develop comparative research and critical thinking skills for understanding the range of lived experiences in local and global communities and to understand how power operates in society.
- Develop research and writing skills in an integrative learning approach including a range of humanities and social science perspectives.
- Understand various analytical and/or rhetorical frameworks related to various areas of study within ethnic, gender and labor studies and relevant to the world of work, civic engagement and community development.
You will have access to available internships and directed study that allow focus on areas of greatest interest
