Ethnic Studies Program
201 Old Library Building
610-436-2308
Ethnic Studies
Miguel Ceballos, Director
Carla Lee Verderame, Assistant Director
The Institute of Race and Ethnic Studies organizes cultural programming on diversity and offers a Minor in Ethnic Studies. The Ethnic Studies Minor is an interdisciplinary program that provides students with a critical understanding of the social, cultural, and historical experiences of racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Ethnic Studies enhances students’ appreciation and understanding of race and ethnicity in their course of study, personal life, and future career, and prepares them for an increasingly diverse, multicultural, and global society.
The program offers a minor to any student, regardless of major, that requires eighteen credit hours of courses: a core course and five additional courses that the student selects from a wide range of disciplines, including, but not limited to: anthropology, communication studies, English, health, history, languages and cultures, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology, and social work. The minor may lead to a multi-ethnic emphasis or to a concentration in one of the following areas:
- African American Studies
- Asian American Studies
- Jewish American Studies
- Latino/a Studies
- Native American Studies
Each concentration offers an interdisciplinary course of study to students interested in the literary, historical, artistic, cultural, economic, political, and sociological significance of the specific racial and/or ethnic group under study.
For current requirements and a list of approved courses in each specialization, including information on certain cognate courses and other related courses that may satisfy the minor requirements, students may consult with the Director of Ethnic Studies or visit The Institute of Race and Ethnic Studies website: https://www.wcupa.edu/EthnicStudies/.
Steering Committee Members
Mahmoud Amer, Languages and Cultures
Miguel Ceballos, Anthropology and Sociology
Janet Chang, Psychology
Cecilia Lee-Fang Chien, History
Hadih Deedat, Undergraduate Social Work
Valerian Desousa, Anthropology and Sociology
Michael A. Di Giovine, Anthropology and Sociology
Jonathan Friedman, History
Paul D. Green, English
Daniela Johannes, Languages and Cultures
Ann Lieberman Colgan, Interdisciplinary and Academic Support Programs
Don McCown, Health
Cherise Pollard, English
Tabassum Ruby, Women's and Gender Studies
Ana C. Sanchez, Languages and Cultures
Alice Speh, Languages and Cultures
Linda S. Stevenson, Political Science
Chiwoneso B. Tinago, Health
Carla Lee Verderame, English
Heather Wholey, Anthropology and Sociology
All undergraduate students are held to the academic policies and procedures outlined in the undergraduate catalog. Students are encouraged to review departmental handbooks for program tips, suggested course sequences, and explanations of procedures. When applicable, additional policies for specific department programs may be listed below.
Degree Completion for the Minor in Ethnic Studies
As soon as possible, students should register their intent to earn the minor with the director of the Institute of Race and Ethnic Studies (IRES). At the end of each semester, students should report the ethnic-related courses completed during the semester and the courses planned for the following semester to the director. An updated list of courses approved for credit is available each semester from the IRES before the advising and scheduling period. Students can use an approved ethnic-related course toward the completion of the Minor in Ethnic Studies at the same time it is being used to fulfill their major, other minor, or elective requirements.
Students are encouraged to attend at least two cultural ethnic events--speakers, musical programs, art shows, theatre productions, or films--each year.
Professors
Cecilia Lee-Fang Chien (2005)
B.A., Central Michigan University; M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University
Michael A. Di Giovine (2013)
B.S., Georgetown University; A.M., Ph.D., The University of Chicago
Jonathan Friedman (2002)
Director, Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Graduate Coordinator, Holocaust and Genocide Studies
B.A., Kent State University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Maryland - College Park
Paul D. Green (1971)
A.B., Temple University; A.M., Ph.D., Harvard University
Donald McCown (2011)
B.A., Eastern University; M.S.S., Bryn Mawr College; Ph.D. Tilburg University
Cherise Pollard (1999)
B.A., Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
Alice J. Speh (1989)
A.B., Brown University; M.A., Ph.D., Bryn Mawr College
Linda S. Stevenson (2002)
Assistant Chairperson, Political Science
B.A., College of Wooster; M.A., Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
Carla Lee Verderame (1998)
Assistant Director, Ethnic Studies Program
A.B., Smith College; M.A.T., Brown University; Ph.D., University of Michigan
Heather Wholey (2005)
Chairperson, Anthropology and Sociology
B.A., State University of New York at Albany; M.A., Ph.D., Catholic University of America
Associate Professors
Miguel Ceballos (2012)
Director, Ethnic Studies Program
Assistant Chairperson, Anthropology and Sociology
B.A., University of California, Berkeley; M.A., University of Texas at Austin; M.S., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison
Janet Chang (2016)
B.A., Swarthmore College; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Davis
Valerian Desousa (2008)
Assistant Chairperson, Anthropology and Sociology
B.A., Bombay University; M.A., Xavier Labour Relations Institute (India); Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Daniela Salvo Johannes (2015)
B.A., Universidad Catolica de Chile; M.A., Ph.D., University of Arizona
Ann Lieberman Colgan (2007)
Director, Interdisciplinary Studies Program
B.A., West Chester University of Pennsylvania; M.Ed., Rivier College; Ed.D., Gratz College
Tabassum Ruby (2016)
B.A. University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon; M.A. University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon; Ph.D. York University, Toronto
Chiwoneso Tinago (2016)
B.S., William Carey University; M.P.H., University of Southern Mississippi; Ph.D., University of South Carolina
Assistant Professors
Hadih A Deedat (2019)
B.A., University of Ghana; M.P.H., Temple University; M.S., Ph.D., Widener
Ana C. Sanchez (2016)
B.A. National University of Costa Rica; M.A. National University of Costa Rica; M.A. West Chester University
Course titles and descriptions for Ethnic Studies are listed under the relevant departments. Refer to the Minor in Ethnic Studies curriculum table for courses that apply to each concentration area.
