Chicana/o Studies: Transborder Communities

Program Offered

• Bachelor of Arts in Chicana/o Studies
• Minor in Chicana/o Studies: Transborder Communities

The Bachelor of Arts degree in Chicana/o Studies offers a curriculum that examines current and past experiences of Chicanas/os and other hemispheric Americans whose origins exist south of the United States/Mexican border from multi-disciplinary perspectives. This degree places students at the center in the investigation of local issues in context with transborder questions. The core courses at the lower and upper division level will provide majors with a solid training in Chicana/o Studies while providing them the opportunity to minor or double major in a related disciplinary program.

The Minor in Chicana/o Studies affords students the opportunity to investigate the multi-dimensional culture of the Chicana/o Community in the United States. It is, by definition, interdisciplinary and seeks to provide students with a nuanced appreciation of the population. The minor offers non-majors the opportunity to investigate the historical complexities of societies and social movements and their legacies in the present.

Careers

The Chicano/s Studies major prepares students for careers in the private sector, education, government agencies, or non-profit organizations that serve communities with a significant population of people with origins from Mexico and other nations of Latin America.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the history and culture of people of Mexican and Latin American origins in
   the United States, specifically within the region of Southern California.
   
2. Examine gender as a central theme of the study of the Chicana/o community.
   
3. Analyze the literary expression of Chicanas/os and Latinas/os.
   
4. Distinguish variations within Chicana/o communities in respect to class, culture, ethnicity,
   gender, race, and sexuality.
   
5. Identify theoretical questions informing Chicana/o Studies.
   
6. Summarize the ideas of major thinkers who have influenced this area of study in the past and present.
   
7. Identify, locate, evaluate, synthesize and present current research and information on issues informing the experience of Chicanas/os and Latinas/os in Southern California and across the nation.
   
8. Summarize demographic trends in the United States of the past, present, and for the future.
   
9. Discuss the major theories and concepts of Chicana/o Studies and its subfields.
   
10. Effectively present research findings.
    
11. Demonstrate effective writing skills.

Faculty

Julia Balén, Ph.D. 
Associate Professor of English
Bell Tower West, Room 1112
(805) 437-8435
julia.balen@csuci.edu

Frank Barajas, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of History
Sage Hall, Room 2037
(805) 437-8862
frank.barajas@csuci.edu

Renny Christopher, Ph.D.
Professor of English
Bell Tower, Room 2165
(805) 437-8994
renny.christopher@csuci.edu

Dennis Downey, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Sage Hall, Room 2127
(805) 437-3315
dennis.downey@csuci.edu

Marie Francois, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Histoy
Sage Hall, Room 2141
(805) 437-3123
marie.francois@csuci.edu

Elizabeth Hartung, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
Sage Hall, Room 2043
(805) 437-3274
elizabeth.hartung@csuci.edu

Bradley Monsma, Ph.D.
Professor of English
Bell Tower West, Room 1185
(805) 437-8948
brad.monsma@csuci.edu

Christy Teranishi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Sage Hall, Room 2035
(805) 437-3311
christy.teranishi@csuci.edu

Lillian Vega-Casteneda, Ed.D.
Professor of Education
Bell Tower West, Room 2848
(805) 437-8872
lillian.castaneda@csuci.edu

Contact Information

chicanostudies@csuci.edu

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Chicana/o Studies (120 units)

Core Requirements in the Major (45-47 units)
General Education (48 units) (Includes 1 UDIGE Outside Major 2 Title V Courses)
Electives (22-27 units)
Total (120 Units)

Students are encouraged to identify a minor, or possible major, in a related discipline such as English, History, Political Science, Sociology, or Spanish.

Lower Division Core Requirements (9-10 Units)

CHS Introductory Courses (6 units)

CHS 100* Chicanas/os in Contemporary Society (3)
CHS 292* Chicanas/os Studies Service Learning and Civic Engagement (3)

Language Requirement (3-4)

SPAN 202* Intermediate Spanish II (4) (Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor)
or
SPAN 212* Spanish for Heritage Speakers II (4) (Prerequisite: SPAN 211 or equivalent or consent of the Instructor)
or
substitute an Upper Division Spanish course (3) (approved by advisor)

Upper Division Core Requirements (36-37 Units)

Theory and Methods (6 units)

SOC 310 Research Methods in Sociology (3) (Prerequisite: SOC 100; SOC 303 or equivalent; and, upper division standing)
CHS 491 Theoretical Foundations of Chicana/o Studies (3) (Prerequisite: CHS 331, Senior Standing, or consent of the instructor)

Chicana/o History and Culture (9 units)

Select one of the following:
HIST 360* History of Colonial Latin America (3)
HIST 361* History of Modern Latin America (3)

Select two of the following:
ENGL 353* Chicana/o/Hispanic American Literature (3)
HIST 350† Chicana/o History and Culture (3)
HIST 402* Chicana/o Southern California
History and Culture (3)

Chicana/o Transborder Policy and Society (9-10 units)

CHS 331* Transborder Perspectives in Chicana/o Studies (3)

Select six units from the course below:
CHS 364 Chicano English (3)
CHS 401 Legal Issues Facing Low-Wage Latino Workers (3)
CHS 494 Independent Research (1-3)
CHS 497 Directed Studies (1-3)
HIST 445 Chicano Child and Adolescent (4)

Upper Division Electives (9 Units)

Select nine units from the course below:
ENGL 311 Bilingual Literacy Studies/Estudios Literarios Bilingues (3) (Prerequisite: ENGL 103 or 105 and SPAN 202 or 212 or consent of the instructor)
ENGL 331* Narratives of the Working Class (3)
ENGL 378 Contemporary Native American Authors: Telecourse (3)
HIST 334* Narratives of Southern California (3)
HIST 349* History of Business and Economics in North America (3)
HIST 369 California History and Culture (3)
HIST 420 History of Mexico (3)
HIST 421 Revolutionary Mexico, 1876-1930 (3)
POLS 306* The Politics of Race and Ethnicity (3)

Service Learning Capstone (3 units)

CHS 492 Internship/Service Learning (1-3) (Prerequisite: CHS 491, or consent of instructor)
CHS 499 Service Learning Capstone in Chicana/o Studies (1-3)

Requirements for the Minor in Chicana/o Studies: Transborder Communities (18-25 units)

Lower Division Requirements (6-7 units)

Choose one of the following (3 units):
CHS 100* Chicanas/os in Contemporary Society (3)
CHS 292 Chicanas/os Studies Service Learning and Civic Engagement (3)

Choose one of the following (3-4 units):
SPAN 202 Intermediate Spanish II (4) (Prerequisite: SPAN 102 or equivalent)
SPAN 212 Spanish for Heritage Speakers II (4) (Prerequisite: SPAN 211 or consent of instructor)
Spanish Course (3) Approved by the minor faculty advisor

*Courses Fulfilling GE Requirement.
†Courses Fulfilling American Institution Requirement.

Upper Division Requirements (12 units)

Select four courses from the following:
CHS 331* Transborder Perspectives in Chicana/o Studies (3)
CHS 350 Chicana/o History and Culture (HIST) (3)
CHS 364 Chicano English (3)
CHS 491 Theoretical Foundations of Chicana/o Studies (3) (Prerequisite: CHS 331, Senior standing or consent of instructor)
ART 333* History of Southern California Chicana/o Art (HIST)
BUS 349* History of Business and Economics in North America (ECON/HIST) (3)
EDUC 445* Chicano Child and Adolescent (HIST) (4)
ENGL 353* Chicana/o/Hispanic American Literature (3)
HIST 360* History of Colonial Latin America (3)
HIST 361* History of Modern Latin America (3)
HIST 402 Chicana/o Southern California History and Culture (3)
HIST 420 History of Mexico (3)
HIST 421 Revolutionary Mexico, 1876-1930 (3)

Other upper division courses approved by the minor faculty advisor.

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