Purpose of the Policy 

Ethnic Studies is an interdisciplinary field connecting students’ lived experiences  (embodied knowledges) across disciplines; centering decolonization (challenging settler  colonialism, racism & epistemic violence); and equipping students with tools to better  understand social inequalities and structural forces that shape their lives while also  providing them with tangible strategies to transform their communities. Ethnic Studies  empowers research and engagement with racialized communities by focusing on  activism, critical analysis of structural and institutionalized violence, and working for  epistemic justice by uplifting ways of knowing and knowledges that have been  historically marginalized in the academy. The disciplinary focus is defined in AB1460 as  being on one or more of four groups: Native American Studies, African American  Studies, Asian American Studies, and Latina and Latino American Studies. 

At Humboldt State University Ethnic Studies disciplines are housed in two departments:  Critical Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (Ethnic Studies Major Concentration and  Minor) and Native American Studies. These two departments will be where courses that  meet the AB 1460/Area F Requirement will be listed and maintained.  

AB 1460 was signed into law on August 17, 2020. This law provides an explicit pathway  for implementation of an Ethnic Studies requirement in the CSU and supports the  following goals and objectives: 

● Students shall complete one three-unit lower-division or upper-division course  in Ethnic Studies; 

● Students obtain knowledge about the experiences of one or more of the four  historically defined racialized core groups: Native Americans, African Americans,  Asian Americans, and Latina and Latino Americans; and,

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● Students acquire the knowledge and skills that will help them comprehend the  diversity and social justice history of the United States and of the society in  which they live to enable them to contribute to that society as responsible and  constructive citizens. 

Modifications or adaptations to the learning objectives are subject to the expert peer  evaluation of Ethnic Studies faculty in Ethnic Studies departments, units, or programs  (e.g., Native American Studies, African American Studies, Asian American Studies,  Latina/o Studies, or Ethnic Studies). 

Table of Contents 

I. Course Requirements  

II. Evaluation and Assessment  

III. Faculty Qualifications  

IV. Review Process 

Policy Details 

Course Requirements 

Each course must meet the following requirements to fulfill the AB1460 Ethnic Studies  GE Requirement as stated in Executive Order 1100: CSU General Education Breadth  Requirements (EO 1100): 

● Must fulfill a minimum of three out of the five core competencies: 

Core Competency #1: Analyze and articulate concepts such as race and racism,  racialization, ethnicity, equity, ethno-centrism, eurocentrism, white supremacy, self determination, liberation, decolonization, sovereignty, imperialism, settler colonialism,  and anti-racism as analyzed in any one or more of the following: Native American  Studies, African American Studies, Asian American Studies, and Latina and Latino  American Studies. 

Core Competency #2: Apply theory and knowledge produced by Native American,  African American, Asian American, and/or Latina and Latino American communities to  describe the critical events, histories, cultures, intellectual traditions, contributions, 

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lived-experiences and social struggles of those groups with a particular emphasis on  agency and group-affirmation. 

Core Competency #3: Critically analyze the intersection of race and racism as they relate  to class, gender, sexuality, religion, spirituality, national origin, immigration status,  ability, tribal citizenship, sovereignty, language, and/or age in Native American, African  American, Asian American, and/or Latina and Latino American communities. 

Core Competency #4: Explain and critically review how struggle, resistance, racial and  social justice, solidarity, and liberation, as experienced, enacted, and studied by Native  Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans and/or Latina and Latino Americans are  relevant to current and structural issues such as communal, national, international, and  transnational politics as, for example, in immigration, reparations, settler-colonialism,  multiculturalism, language policies. 

Core Competency #5: Describe and actively engage with anti-racist and anti-colonial  issues and the practices and movements in Native American, African American, Asian  American and/or Latina and Latino communities to build a just and equitable society. 

● Must meet the following GEAR Program Learning Outcome: #12: Apply  knowledge produced by voices and perspectives of marginalized communities to  analyze systems of power and privilege and identify strategies for creating just  and equitable societies.  

● Shall have an Ethnic Studies course prefix such as Native American Studies (NAS)  or Ethnic Studies (ES). 

● Shall be managed by the respective department (CRGS or NAS) for which the  course is listed with Department Chair approval over: selection of instructor,  course days/times, and course offerings per semester. 

Evaluation and Assessment 

● Courses shall be evaluated to determine compliance with AB 1460 Core  Competencies as needed with leadership from the HSU Ethnic Studies Council, 

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who will provide a report to the CRGS/NAS Department Chairs and the GEAR  committee.  

● Courses will also be evaluated to determine how they are meeting GEAR  Program Learning Outcomes by the GEAR committee.  

● The Ethnic Studies Council will work in partnership with the GEAR Committee to  determine assessment requirements for meeting AB1460 and GEAR Program  Learning Outcome #12 and auditing Ethnic Studies requirement courses for  assessment purposes. 

Faculty Qualifications 

● Preferred qualifications for faculty shall first be faculty hired in Ethnic Studies  departments, units, or programs (e.g., Native American Studies, African  American Studies, Asian American Studies, Latina/o Studies, or Ethnic Studies)  and second be faculty meet the stated submission requirements and have an  agreed upon and signed MOU with Ethnic Studies departments as approved by  Ethnic Studies Department Chairs (the CRGS or NAS department at HSU).  

Review Process 

● Ethnic Studies Faculty (CRGS/NAS) Review Process:  

○ CRGS/NAS faculty shall propose courses with Ethnic Studies (ES) or Native  American Studies (NAS) prefixes to department level curriculum  

committees; 

○ Curriculum committees in CRGS or NAS shall review, modify, and approve  courses with ES/NAS prefixes attempting to meet the Ethnic Studies  Requirement; 

○ Faculty proposing the course will submit the approved course to  Curriculog for approval for course listing.  

○ The proposal will need to be approved by the CRGS or NAS Department  Chair before being reviewed by the Dean, GEAR and the ICC following the  procedure outlined in the ICC bylaws.  

● Affiliated Faculty Review Process 

○ A faculty member who is not a current CRGS/Native American Studies  faculty will meet with the CRGS or NAS Chair to discuss a proposed 

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course. Faculty interested in teaching courses that would satisfy the Ethnic  Studies requirement must meet the below set of standards and  requirements in order to be considered for cross listing. 

■ Materials Needed: 

● A cover letter explaining the course for consideration,  

specifically evidencing how the course meets the standards  

of Ethnic Studies, why the faculty member is interested in  

teaching Ethnic Studies, how they incorporate Ethnic Studies  pedagogy in their classroom, and how their discipline-specific  field (i.e., English, History, Philosophy, etc.) will be de 

centered. 

● A full syllabus (including weekly readings and assignments).  ● A short 2-pg. CV highlighting how the faculty member’s  

teaching and research areas have interfaced with at least one  of the traditional Ethnic Studies academic fields (i.e., African  

American/Black Studies; Asian American & Pacific Islander  

Studies; Native American and Indigenous Studies; Chicanx  

and Latinx Studies). 

■ Materials will need to be submitted to the Department Chair of CRGS  or NAS for review.  

○ After the Department Chair receives all materials the CRGS or NAS  Department will review the course and determine if the course meets the  requirements and can be listed as an ES approved course.  

○ The CRGS or NAS Department Chair will propose the course to their  respective Department Curriculum Committee for review, discussion, and  approval.  

○ If the course is approved by the CRGS or NAS Department Curriculum  Committee, then the proposing faculty member will submit the course to  Curriculog.  

○ The course proposal should include a Memorandum of Understanding  between the home department of the faculty member and the Ethnic  Studies Department, reviewed and approved by the Dean of the College  of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and, as needed, Deans from the  Colleges from which the proposing faculty reside (College of Professional  Studies or College of Natural Resources and Sciences). The MOU should  note if the course will solely be listed under an ES or NAS designation (as  required by AB1460), or also cross-listed with the home department, if it 

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will meet other major requirements, and that the proposing faculty’s  home department is willing to work in partnership with Ethnic Studies  department and support the proposing faculty member to submit the  course for listing in the ES or NAS Department.  

○ Once all documents are uploaded the CRGS or NAS Department Chair will  provide an Ethnic Studies or NAS Course Prefix number for the course  and will review and approve the course proposal via Curriculog.  

○ The proposal will need to be approved by the CRGS or NAS Department  Chair before being reviewed by the Dean, GEAR and the ICC following the  procedure outlined in the ICC bylaws.  

CRGS and NAS maintain the right to determine proposed course offerings and course  frequency as well as instructor preference for courses that are housed in the ES  Designated departments and/or meet the AB1460 requirement. 

The HSU Ethnic Studies Council will continue to meet with the Dean of the College of  Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences to determine need, course offerings, and provide  guidance to the CRGS and NAS Department Chairs about course demand and offerings  for each year.