Senior Christina Finley came to the University last year in search of an education that would enable her to become a tribal attorney at the Colville Reservation in Washington near where she grew up.
She is now majoring in ethnic studies, a program that examines the construction and context of ethnicity in the United States, and she said she plans to attend law school after she completes her undergraduate studies.
“There are not a lot of ethnic studies programs in the state,” she said. “This is the only program in the University that is dedicated to action and social justice, which is exactly what I want to do with my life.”
Finley is one of about 100 majors in the University’s Ethnic Studies Program, which was implemented as a major in 1997. The program has expanded rapidly in the past three years, growing from about 12 majors since it began appointing its own faculty in 1999.
Associate Professor Shari Huhndorf, who directed the program during its growth spurt, said the program relied solely on participating faculty in other departments before it had its own faculty. The independence in faculty helped to boost the major, she said.
“For the first time, we were able to begin to meet the students’ needs and interests,” she said in an e-mail interview. She said another reason for the growth is that the program offers something students can’t get anywhere else on campus.
“Currently, there are no other departments on campus where students can undertake sustained study of the ways in which race and ethnicity shape society,” she said.
The program still has few faculty of its own, however, and it continues to use faculty from other departments to add to the interdisciplinary program.
Ethnic Studies Program Office Coordinator Donella-Elizabeth Alston said some students were worried about the small number of professors in the department this year.
“I know it made the students kind of nervous,” she said, adding that it also creates the opportunity to bring in visiting professors who can share new perspectives.
Visiting Assistant Professor Fiona Ngô said that as a “multiethnic scholar” she is able to incorporate her experiences with various races into her teaching.
“I am able to talk about race as a complete system,” she said. She said she also adds gender and sexuality issues into her discussions. Ngô currently teaches Ethnic Studies 101, which she said can compel students to continue on with the program.
Huhndorf said students often want to stay once they get a taste of the program.
“Students who take ES classes quickly grow to understand the importance of this knowledge, and many who take an ES class for elective credit end up enrolling as majors,” she said.
Ethnic Studies Director Dennis Galvan said with such a small number of faculty, it is amazing that the program is able to support so many majors, but he still sees room for growth.
“We probably could serve 200 majors,” he said. “I don’t know at what point we would get there, but I think we will get there.”
Galvan said people who become majors in the program tend to be committed to working for social and economic justice. He said this mentality often sends people into particular fields of work.
“Even though people can do a lot more of a wider range of things with this kind of major, there is a certain amount of self-selection,” he said.
Community organizing, local level economic development and teaching are a few of the areas people with an ethnic studies background end up in, he added.
“We give people skills that can equip them for many other walks of life as well,” Galvan said.
Finley said she intends to spread the education she is receiving in the program.
“It’s really important to me as a Native American to get an education and take the education back to my reservation,” she said.
Junior Tawnya Parker said the major can be useful in every career. She’s not sure exactly what she wants to do when she graduates, but she knows she wants to educate people on issues of diversity.
“I think it’s the most valuable major in real life,” she said.
She said she felt drawn to the program because the subject is something she believes in.
“It just kind of spoke to me,” Parker said.