Chicanx Studies, Minor

The minor will develop your skills in theoretical inquiry and analysis, cultural interpretation, historical and political formations, identity and contemporary social formations, and community leadership and practice. 

Educational Objectives

Our emphasis on research and writing will provide you with the practical skills in data collection and effective communication that can be applied across the spectrum of academic and professional disciplines.

Our comprehensive curriculum will take you on a well-rounded academic journey where you’ll learn oral history, develop interviewing skills, and strengthen your abilities in social and cultural analysis.

Our current, relevant courses will prepare you to acquire the necessary qualifications to teach Ethnic Studies at the high school level.

Our focus on the Mexican-American experience will deepen your understanding of social, cultural, political, and economic factors and empower you to better navigate today’s multicultural society.

For more information, please visit the Program Catalog

Please note: Twelve of the units taken to complete a minor (6 of which are upper division) may not be used in fulfillment of other minors, concentrations, or major requirements.

The Chicanx Studies Minor requires you to take four courses in fulfillment of five learning outcomes. The general pathway for students pursuing the Chicanx Studies Minor is below:

Complete one of the following courses:

• HCOM 345 - Chicanx Life & Culture Units: 4
• HCOM 455 - Paradigms Of Chicanx Comm Units: 4

Complete three of the following courses:

• HCOM 328 - Latina Life Stories Units: 4
• HCOM 344 - Chicana/Latina Experiences Units: 4
• HCOM 365 - Chicanx Latinx History Units: 4
• HCOM 428 - Contemporary Chicana Poetry Units: 4
• HCOM 451 - Transnational Migrations Units: 4
• HCOM 455 - Paradigms Of Chicanx Comm Units 4
• LS 311 - Educational Issues and the Latino Community Units: 3
• SPAN 308 - Hist/Cultr Aztlan:SW US Units: 4
• SPAN 365 - The Chicano Narrative Units: 3
• SPAN 370 - The Chicanx Community Units: 3
• SSCI 325 - Art of the Aztec Empire Units: 4
• SSCI 384S - Anthropology of Education: Cultural Contexts of Bilingual Education Units: 3
• VPA 347 - Chicana/o-Black Art Units: 4

Our location will serve as an invigorating backdrop for your learning experience in the minor, where you’ll uncover the rich and complex stories of Mexicans on the Central Coast from before statehood to the large waves of immigrants arriving since the early 1900s.

You’ll have the opportunity to engage in service-learning activities at places like California Rural Legal Assistance in Salinas, which has historically played a huge role in the Mexican-American civil rights movement. The combination of this history and first-hand service-learning experience gives students an extra special sense of pride that they are engaged in something larger than themselves.