Social Justice and Ethnic Studies
12 courses · Solano Community College · 2025-2026 Catalog
Classes: Spring 2026
ETHN 001 Introduction to Ethnic Studies
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 3 hours lecture weekly, 54 contact hours total
- Transfers to
- CSU, UC
- C-ID
- SOCI 150
This course introduces foundational concepts and themes of the Ethnic Studies discipline. Within the course we will take an interdisciplinary and intersectional approach to the examination of the historical, cultural, economic and political issues that impact ethnic/racial groups within the United States, with a specific focus on the African American/Black American, Asian American, Indigenous/American Indian/Native American, and Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x communities.
ETHN 002 Introduction to Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x Studies
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 3 hours lecture weekly, 54 contact hours total
- Transfers to
- CSU
An interdisciplinary exploration of historical, sociopolitical, economic, and cultural conditions related to the Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x population in the United States. The emphasis is on past and contemporary Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x social movements and the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, and gender.
ETHN 003 Introduction to Asian Pacific American Studies
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 3 hours lecture weekly, 54 contact hours total
- Transfers to
- CSU
An interdisciplinary exploration of historical, socio-political, economic, and cultural conditions related to the Asian Pacific American (APA) population in the United States. Emphasis is on patterns of immigration, racialization and exclusion as well as social and cultural movements to assert identity, solidarity, and contest exclusions. Intersectional and comparative approaches are foregrounded in which Asian Pacific American experiences of race and racialization are understood in relation to other racial/ethnic groups and other aspects of social identity including socioeconomic class, gender, sexuality, national origin, citizenship status, and language.
ETHN 004 Introduction to African American Studies
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 3 hours lecture weekly, 54 contact hours total
- Transfers to
- CSU, UC
An interdisciplinary exploration of historical, socio-political, economic, educational, and cultural conditions related to the Black/African American population in the United States. The emphasis is on past and contemporary Black/African American social movements and the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, and gender.
ETHN 024 Native Americans and Social Justice
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 3 hours lecture weekly, 54 contact hours total
- Advisory
- ENGL C1000 or ENGL 001E (College Composition for Non-native English Speakers)
- Transfers to
- CSU
This introductory course is a comparative and interdisciplinary examination of the experiences of Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas, with a focus on Native North American and Native Amazonian groups. Using the lens of ethnic studies, and considering the contributions of anthropology, history, and human rights studies, we will examine both historical and contemporary Native American struggles for social justice, with a focus on social movements since the 1960s. Students will analyze these movements and Native American history through an intersectional analysis that interrogates categories of identity and power, including race, ethnicity, culture and culture change, religion, and gender. This course also explores a range of theoretical concepts and social processes, including ethnocentrism, sovereignty and self-determination, citizenship, religion and spirituality, and human rights. With an emphasis on the voices of Native American activists and writers, we will pay special attention to historical and contemporary policies that have affected Native American land use, religion, and language. Course Equivalent: ANTH 024
ETHN 028 African American History to 1877
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 3 hours lecture weekly, 54 contact hours total
- Transfers to
- CSU, UC
Survey of the history of African Americans from African civilizations through Reconstruction with emphasis on the role of African Americans in the economic, social, and political development of the United States. The course examines the development of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, chattel slavery, concepts of race, gender and racial oppression, and interactions between African Americans and Native Americans and whites. A strong emphasis is placed on strategies of African-American resistance to slavery and racism; self-determination; and black nationalism. Course Equivalent: HIST 028
ETHN 029 African American History Since 1865
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 3 hours lecture weekly, 54 contact hours total
- Transfers to
- CSU, UC
This course is a survey of the political, cultural, and economic history of African Americans from Reconstruction (1865) to the present including an examination of the concepts of segregation, migration and urbanization, nationalism and separatism, class differentiation, civil rights, and liberation. The course will closely examine the African American protest tradition in shaping the American nation. A special emphasis is placed on African American intellectual discourse and the dynamic intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality in the African American experience. Course Equivalent: HIST 029
ETHN 031 Mexican American/Chicano History
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 3 hours lecture weekly, 54 contact hours total
- Transfers to
- CSU, UC
A survey of Mexican American/Chicano history from pre-Columbian civilizations to the present. This course will emphasize the economic, social, cultural, and political events that have shaped the history of Mexican Americans/Chicanos in the United States with an emphasis on the concepts of race and racism, decolonization, racial solidarity, and self-determination. Course Equivalent: HIST 031
ETHN 033 Survey of African American Literature
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 3 hours lecture weekly, 54 contact hours total
- Prerequisite
- ENGL C1000 or ENGL 001E (College Composition for Non-native English Speakers)
- Transfers to
- CSU, UC
This course introduces students to a survey of Black Literature, focusing on the early oral tradition, literature of slavery and freedom, the Harlem Renaissance, Modernism, the Black Arts Era, and the contemporary period. Reading selections may consist of poetry, short stories, plays, novels, and nonfiction prose, including essays, letters, political tracts, autobiographies, speeches, and sermons. Students analyze the literature and apply critical theory, along with historical, cultural, and political contexts to explore lived experiences, social struggles, and contributions of Black and African Americans writers in the United States. Course Equivalent: ENGL 033
ETHN 035 Diverse Art: Race and Representation in the U.S.A.
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 3 hours lecture weekly, 54 contact hours total
- Transfers to
- CSU, UC
An art survey course that examines and assesses the work of African American artists and artists representing one or more additional communities: Native American, Asian American, and/or Latinx. Examines artists' anti-racist and anti-colonial strategies to assert agency and effect change through the creation and display of their art, in both contemporary and historical contexts. Explores the complexities of intersectional identity, as well as the racism of art organizations and U.S. society. Course Equivalent: ARTH 035
ETHN 036 Multi-Ethnic Literature in America
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 3 hours lecture weekly, 54 contact hours total
- Prerequisite
- ENGL C1000 or ENGL 001E (College Composition for Non-native English Speakers)
- Transfers to
- CSU, UC
A survey of Literature by African American, Native American, Asian American, and Latina/o American writers that includes an analysis of complicating factors such as racialization and intersectionality. Reading selections will include novels, plays, short stories, essays, and poetry, by native born, immigrant, and undocumented writers. The course will emphasize the cultural, political, and historical context of these works. Course Equivalent: ENGL 036
ETHN 045 Exploration of Rap and Hip-Hop
- Units
- 3
- Hours
- 3 hours lecture weekly, 48 contact hours total
- Transfers to
- CSU, UC
Through an Ethnic Studies lens, this course is an in-depth exploration of the history of rap and hip-hop through its origins in African and Black-American oral traditions to its current standing as the preeminent popular musical genre in America and a global phenomenon. Students will be introduced to a myriad of artists, performers, and figures that helped shape this ever-expanding genre. Additionally, students will explore the racial, social, political, and cultural implications and controversies that have been prevalent throughout the genre's history. Students will come to understand how Rap and Hip-Hop has addressed issues of racial and ethnic inequality. Finally, students will be introduced to an extensive list of musical examples that illustrate this history. which will not only broaden their musical horizons, but also (through their lyrical content) illustrate the causes, mechanisms and consequences underpinning racial and ethnic discrimination and inequality in contemporary societies.