theundergraduateschoo ls - Wake Forest University

American Ethnic Studies (AES)
(Interdisciplinary Minor)
Director Rubin Professor of American Ethnic Studies and Professor of Sociology Earl Smith
Adjunct Instructor Beth Hopkins
The interdisciplinary minor in American ethnic studies requires 18 hours. The student must
take AES 151. Race and Ethnic Diversity in America, during the second or third year at Wake
Forest, and AES 234. Ethnicity and Immigration. At least one additional three-hour course must
be taken from the behavioral and social sciences, and one from the humanities. This structure
gives students an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of American ethnic studies
within the context of the traditional liberal arts curriculum.
151. Race and Ethnic Diversity in America. (3h) Different race and ethnic experiences are examined
through an institutional approach that examines religion, work, schooling, marriage patterns,
and culture from a cross-cultural perspective. Grand theoretical schemes like the “melting
pot” are critiqued for their relevance in an age of new cultural expectations among the many
American ethnic groups. (CD)
232. The American Jewish Experience. (3h) Interdisciplinary course exploring Jewish immigration
to America with a primary focus on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
234. Ethnicity and Immigration. (3h) Exploration of the socio-historical dynamics of the peopling
of America in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. (CD)
240. Asian-American Legacy: A Social History of Community Adaptation. (3h) Introduction to the
history, culture, and literature of the Asian-American communities, exploring issues of migration,
assimilation, and the process of developing Asian-American identities in the twentieth and
early twenty-first centuries. Also listed as SOC 240. (CD)
310. Race, Class, and Gender in a Color-blind Society. (3) Examination of issues surrounding race,
class, and gender in the United States. Topics include income and wealth, theories of discrimination,
public education, gender bias, and patterns of occupational and industrial segregation.
Also listed as EDU 310.
357. Studies in Chicano Literature. (3h) Writings by Americans of Mexican descent in relation to
politics and history. Readings in literature, literary criticism, and socio-cultural analysis. Also
listed as ENG 357. (CD)
358. The Italian Experience in America. (3h) Explores issues of ethnicity and identity in the
Italian-American experience. A central goal is to understand the inter-relationship of social,
economic and political factors that impinge on this large European ethnic group.
387. African-American Fiction. (3h) Selected topics in the development of fiction by American
writers of African descent. Also listed as ENG 387. (CD)
389. African-American Poetry. (3h) Readings of works by American poets of African descent in
theoretical, critical, and historical contexts. Also listed as ENG 389. (CD)
A M E R I C A N E T H N I C S T U D I E S 70