Ethnic Studies: Its legacy, immediacy and future
October
5,
2009 -- This
month the College of Ethnic Studies celebrates
its 40th anniversary and the birth of ethnic studies
as an academic discipline. From Oct. 7 to 10, the College will host an
international conference, "Ethnic
Studies 40 Years Later: Race, Resistance and Relevance." On the
eve of this important event Kenneth Monteiro, dean of the College of
Ethnic Studies, addressed some questions on the influence, accomplishments
and future of the college and the field of study.
Dean of the College of Ethnic Studies Kenneth P. Monteiro
Q: What is Ethnic Studies?
Kenneth P. Monteiro: First, it is a critical resistance to approaches to
knowledge, which oppress others. It is also an approach to the range of
knowledge, which respects traditions of all people and demands that academies
include the literature, philosophies, social sciences, histories, sciences
and other studies of people who were previously not traditionally represented
in the American academia. Forty years ago there were virtually no courses
in Black, Asian, Raza or Native American literature, art, culture and politics,
and what was taught about us was pejorative.
Q: How is SF State unique?
KM: We have the distinction of being the only multi-ethnic, multi-disciplinary
college in the country. We have been engaged in both inter-cultural and ethnic
specific scholarship longer than most and have one of the largest cohorts of
experts in the field of ethnic studies. The majority of universities have smaller
parts of ethnic studies -- like a set of separate courses or programs about one
or two ethnic groups. Few have woven together the range of ethnic academic disciplines
necessary for the kind of serious dialogue that is needed about race, culture
and power.
The value of a college such as ours is that it has the potential to provide the
lens through which new approaches to learning will emerge. In addition to offering
a full range of courses in all areas of ethnic studies, we offer courses that
examine the borders between ethnicities, like Health in American Ethnic Communities,
between ethnicity and other human experiences, such as Coloring Queer, between
ethnicity and other pressing social justice issues, AIDS and People of Color.
We also continue to expand the range of ethnicities we address, for example
Arab-American History, Community and Activism.
Q: Why is ethnic studies as important as the three R's or the ABCs?
KM: Higher education should prepare us to engage the entire range of humanity.
It should not simply serve the world’s power elite. The world hasn’t become more
diverse; we have all always been here. It is just that more of us are being
able to demand an audible voice on the world’s power stage.
Q: What areas of study are currently offered by the College of Ethnic
Studies?
KM: The College of Ethnic Studies includes departments of Africana, American
Indian, Asian American and Raza Studies, and a program in Race and Resistance
Studies. We study the range of these cultures in America and in their Diasporas
(how these people came to leave their homelands). Since it was founded,
the College has also become home to the Cesar Chavez Institute for community-based
participatory research and is soon to add a new program in Arab Muslim Ethnicities
and Diasporas.
Q: What is the extent of the College's influence?
KM: People here developed a significant portion of the original ethnic studies
curriculum, which we've openly shared with many other universities. In addition,
community service learning was an integral part of ethnic studies curricula here
and elsewhere from the start. Students must apply their work to the issues of
the relevant communities so that their knowledge will be relevant to answering
to the needs of the community.
The College of Ethnic Studies became a model for other programs. Our work has
informed the approaches to studying other disciplines like women or gender studies,
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual studies, and disability studies. The founding
of the College at SF State was one of the flashpoints for ethnic studies programs
all over the country, sparking and inspiring those in other areas.
Q: What can ethnic studies help us understand about the world today?
KM: When I was in school, academic discussions of race were rare, or when they
occurred they were harmful. My discussions on the topic were with others in my
community, not my teachers. I believe that the discipline of ethnic studies provides
a way to address racial issues in a safe and productive manner.
The level of racial chatter, including the media that surrounded the appointment
of Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor, or the outburst of “You lie!” by South
Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson, have been missed opportunities for authentic
discussions about race and power in America. These tangential discussions about
race will continue to permeate the political airwaves until the mass media turns
to more experts in the field, who can provide philosophical, theoretical and
practical discourse aimed at framing the evolving conversations about race, culture
and power in the 21st century. The College of Ethnic Studies at SF State stands
in the forefront of these discussions, and this conference has attracted hundreds
of impressive colleagues from around the world. This week’s events provide a
unique opportunity for anyone seriously interested in race, ethnicity and culture.
Q: What careers do SF State ethnic studies majors pursue?
KM: The same careers that all liberal arts students pursue. Many graduates seek
public education careers, some positions in the private sector. Others go into
health education or community activism. Some go on to doctoral degrees, which
allow them to teach at the college level. We are already seeing second-generation
educators -- the sons and daughters of educators who were studying in the College
of Ethnic Studies when it was new. Many of our graduates also go on to law and
medical careers that will allow them the opportunity to positively impact the
legal protections and health of their communities.
Q: How has the teaching of ethnic studies affected your own life?
KM: I benefited from the ethnic studies movement directly. I grew up in an immigrant
community of Cape Verdean Americans -- West Africans in the U.S. -- and my parents
and most everyone else of their generation did not attend college. In fact, high
school degrees were dear, as many of my parents’ generation, especially women,
had not been afforded that opportunity. It was common for young men to enlist
in the armed forces or become laborers in local businesses, like construction
or picking and processing cranberries. If I had been born 10 years earlier and
civil rights advances had not been made, these would have been my most likely
options as well -- honorable work, but few choices. If it were not for what happened
at SF State in 1968 and 1969 and other universities around the country, I, and
millions like me, would have never even considered college. Moreover, if we had
considered college, it would not have considered us.
Q: The conference is open to the campus community. What do you expect
to be the highlights?
KM: Stimulating and reasoned, yet difficult conversations. Attendees will engage
in dialogue around the evolution of race, cultural and global socio-economic
politics. I believe we will have an intellectually honest discourse about the
impact and evolution of politics of ethnicity, race and culture in the nation
and across the globe in ways that will assist participants in better engaging
society’s major issues. This is a fitting commemoration of the College’s 40 years
of multi-ethnic scholarship and social justice advocacy. The voices that will
be heard will be those of alumni, faculty, students and ethnic scholars from
seven countries around the world.
The conference is free to students and $40 for the public. For a full schedule
of presenters and sessions, visit http://www.sfsu.edu/~ethnicst/
Kenneth P. Monteiro joined the Psychology faculty at SF State in 1987 and
became chair of that department in 1994. He became dean of the College of Ethnic
Studies in 2006. He earned an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and
a doctoral degree in experimental human psychology from Stanford University.
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