The Social Sciences Department is an interdisciplinary department offering majors and minors which draw on social scientific methods of inquiry, connected by interdisciplinary courses that investigate subjects from a multiplicity of perspectives, rather than focusing on a single discipline. The department includes the Asian American Studies Program, the Social Science Program and the Women's Studies Program.
The undergraduate major draws on the strengths of the three programs and offers a broad, liberal arts education with a focus in the social sciences. Two options within the BA - Social Science prepare future teachers for entrance into elementary (multiple subjects) or secondary (single subject) teaching credential programs in the College of Education by satisfying the requirements of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
A third option, the topical social sciences major, enables students to specialize in interdisciplinary investigation of particular topics. Students take courses from across the College of Social Sciences. Approved topics include: Asian American Studies, Comparative Studies in Race/Ethnicity, Class and Gender, Public Service and Social Change, and Women's Studies. Special topics may also be arranged. Interested students should consult with the department for handouts specifying required and recommended courses. Students should consult the department for new topical areas under development.
The Asian American Studies and Women's Studies Programs analyze the social, economic, political and historical dimensions of ethnicity and gender, with emphases on Asian Americans, cultural and ethnic diversity and women. Each of the three programs offers a minor.
The purpose of the Asian American Studies Program is to shed light on the forces and processes which have shaped American society. The program focuses on the perspectives of Asian Americans and their contributions in the development of the United States. It seeks to account for the similarities and differences in their participation in, and responses to, the social and cultural processes that have given form to the United States in a global context. To facilitate the study of this complex social phenomena, courses in the program are interdisciplinary, with emphases upon the social sciences.
A major concern of the program is the quality of education that is made available to the university community. In recognition of the fact that American society is multiculturally diverse and that social inquiry in the field of ethnic experience has been neglected, the program engages in the dissemination of knowledge, the expansion of knowledge through scholarly research, and the exchange of ideas between the community at large and the campus. This communication with the community has been spawned by the program's unique interdisciplinary formula for teaching and research. As part of the program's research and teaching activities, students and faculty have undertaken several projects in adjacent communities in which they join with nonacademic personnel working within their own institutions.
A minor in Asian American studies is selected by students planning careers requiring knowledge and awareness of the complex nature of American culture and society. Students have found the program to be useful preparation for careers in community service at many levels - local, state and national. The program offers knowledge and training to be effective in professional work in the Asian American community, in such careers as teaching, social work, urban planning, law, health, administration, business, communication, and human development.
Students considering a minor in Asian American studies should consult with the program coordinator.
The Social Science Program offers interdisciplinary courses which cross the boundaries of disciplinary method. These courses especially focus on a social science analysis of education, interdisciplinary study of the foci of the social sciences and the unique perspectives and contributions of scholars who are people of color and women.
Specified coursework prepares students for elementary, middle and secondary school teaching credential programs. In addition, courses support social science topical majors.
The Women's Studies Program offers a comprehensive program which provides students with a multidisciplinary body of knowledge, both theoretical and factual, about women. The curriculum emphasizes the diversity as well as the commonalities among women.
A Women's Studies minor provides students with information about women's experience, history and changing roles, thus offering a useful background for most professions and an important complement to any major.
Students may select a 15-unit minor or a 30-unit emphasis in women's studies within the BA - Social Science. In addition to the courses offered by the Women's Studies Program, a wide variety of courses on women and gender is offered by other departments. A complete listing of courses is available each semester in the Women's Studies Program class list handout.
Interested students should consult with a Women's Studies Program faculty member for advising and approval of the program.
print
mail