https://www.uvm.edu/cas/ethnicstudies
The Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Program educates students in the study of race and ethnicity in the United States. Race and ethnicity are not stable categories; rather, they are ever-changing processes that are contingent on history, politics, geography, culture, and multiple other factors.
The “critical” in critical race and ethnic studies indicates the deliberate complexity at the heart of the program's approach: while courses taught for the program are dedicated to the investigation of race and ethnicity as realities in the daily lives of people of color, of historically racialized communities, the program views these categories as inherently flawed and insufficient. Ultimately, race and ethnicity are not categories that translate seamlessly across historical periods or from culture to culture, even within the United States; moreover, these terms take on radically different meanings that depend on one’s positionality within society’s power structure. Furthermore, race and ethnicity are inherently relational and intersectional. One factor that has been consistent in every incarnation of racial and ethnic identity, however, is power. In the program, students come to appreciate the centrality of power relations in the development of the identities of racially marginalized communities and of whiteness.
Courses
CRES 1010. Topics In: First-Year Seminar. 3 Credits.
Intensive first-year seminar focused on specific themes and/or disciplinary perspectives. Emphasis on developing critical reading and writing skills, substantive revision, information literacy, and analytical thinking. First-year seminars are frequently organized to meet one of the disciplinary Catamount Core requirements. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Catamount Core: WIL1.
CRES 1020. Topics In: LASP Writing. 3 Credits.
Intensive course in a broad disciplinary area (humanities, social sciences, arts, or natural sciences). Part of an integrated first-year experience in which students take 2-4 classes exploring aesthetic, humanistic, social, linguistic, environmental, or scientific issues. May repeat for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Co-requisite: Enrollment in the appropriate Liberal Arts Scholars Program. Catamount Core: WIL1.
CRES 1025. Topics In: LASP Seminar. 3 Credits.
Intensive course in a broad disciplinary area (humanities, social sciences, arts, or natural sciences). Part of an integrated first-year experience in which students take 2-4 classes exploring aesthetic, humanistic, social, linguistic, environmental, or scientific issues. May repeat for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Co-requisite: Enrollment in the appropriate Liberal Arts Scholars Program.
CRES 1811. Intro to Jazz History. 3 Credits.
Survey of jazz from its roots in ragtime and blues of the late nineteenth century to contemporary styles. Cross-listed with: MU 1120. Catamount Core: AH1, D1.
CRES 1813. Blues & Related Traditions. 3 Credits.
Traces the development of blues from African origins to modern blues, its rural and urban social contexts, and relation to African-American history and culture. Cross-listed with: MU 1140. Catamount Core: AH1, D1.
CRES 1821. Topics in Race & Ethnic in Lit. 3 Credits.
Introductory courses addressing the representation and construction of race in literature and/or the contributions of ethnically diverse writers to the American culture. May repeat for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Cross-listed with: ENGL 1210. Catamount Core: AH2, D1.
CRES 1823. Topics in Native American Lit. 3 Credits.
Representative topics: Introduction to Native American Literature. May be repeated for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Cross-listed with: ENGL 1215. Catamount Core: AH2, D1.
CRES 1825. Topics in Afr Am Lit & Culture. 3 Credits.
Representative topic: African-American Women Writers in the Twentieth- and Twenty-first Centuries. May be repeated for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Cross-listed with: ENGL 1220. Catamount Core: AH2, D1.
CRES 1841. Topics in Rel & Race in US. 3 Credits.
Exploration of themes in religion in the United States, with an emphasis on race. Representative topic: African American Religion. Credit not awarded for both CRES 1841 and REL 1355 or versions of the course offered as REL 1010 to 1029. May be repeated for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Cross-listed with: REL 1355. Catamount Core: AH3, D1.
CRES 1843. Histories of AfAm Religions. 3 Credits.
Explores the history of African American religious experiences over the past four centuries, introducing some of the core beliefs, practices, individuals, institutions, communities, relationships, and experiences that have defined Black religious life in the United States. Introduces students to the varieties of African American religious experiences from the seventeenth-century Black Atlantic world to the present. Cross-listed with: REL 1357. Catamount Core: AH3, D1.
CRES 1861. Geography/Race&Ethnicity in US. 3 Credits.
Examination of the ways in which spatial and locational processes shape and are shaped by ethnic and racial identities, struggles, and relationships. Cross-listed with: GEOG 1770. Catamount Core: D1, S1.
CRES 1867. Linguistic Diversity in US. 3 Credits.
Survey of linguistic diversity in the United States, focusing on language and identity of various ethnic and cultural groups, with strong focus on standard language ideology and how language is used to marginalize and justify discrimination of already subordinated groups. Cross-listed with: LING 1200. Catamount Core: D1, S1.
CRES 1881. Race Relations in the US. 3 Credits.
Introduction to the sociological analysis of race and ethnicity, with a focus on the histories of racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Credit not awarded for both SOC 1370 and CRES 1883 or SOC 1372. Cross-listed with: SOC 1370. Catamount Core: D1, S1.
CRES 1883. Topics in Sociology of Race. 3 Credits.
Overview of diverse institutional, cultural, and socio-historical issues relating to U.S. ethnoracial minority groups. Credit not awarded for both SOC 1372 and CRES 1881 or SOC 1370. May be repeated for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Cross-listed with: SOC 1372. Catamount Core: D1, S1.
CRES 1885. Asian-American Experiences. 3 Credits.
An overview of the socio-historical conditions of people of Asian descent in the United States, along with an examination of contemporary issues. Cross-listed with: SOC 1375. Catamount Core: D1, S1.
CRES 1990. Special Topics. 1-18 Credits.
See Schedule of Courses for specific titles.
CRES 2827. US Latino Writers. 3 Credits.
Study of texts written by Latinos since the 1960s. Topics: construction of ethnic identities, representation of race/gender relations; writers and their communities. Prerequisite: Three hours in English numbered 1010 to 1990; minimum Sophomore standing. Cross-listed with: ENGL 2216. Catamount Core: AH2, D1.
CRES 2841. Topics In Rel & Race in US. 3 Credits.
Exploration of aspects of the relationship between race and religion in the United States. May be repeated for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Prerequisite: Three hours in Religion. Cross-listed with: REL 2355. Catamount Core: AH3, D1.
CRES 2851. Race and Ethnicity. 3 Credits.
Description and analysis of ethnic, racial, and religious groups in the United States. Examination of social/cultural patterns in the larger society and in these groups themselves. Prerequisite: ANTH 1100. Cross-listed with: ANTH 2250.
CRES 2853. Indians of the NE: Vermont. 3 Credits.
Native peoples of Vermont from their earliest appearance in the region until today. Archaeological and ethnographic data reviewed in the broader perspective of aboriginal Northeastern cultural history. Prerequisite: ANTH 1100 or ANTH 1800. Cross-listed with: ANTH 2894. Catamount Core: D1.
CRES 2867. African American English. 3 Credits.
Overview of African American English from linguistic and cultural perspectives. Topics include: linguistic structure and history/development, discourse genres, hip-hop language, education, and media representations, among others. Prerequisite: LING 1200 or LING 1500. Cross-listed with: LING 2230. Catamount Core: D1.
CRES 2871. Political Construction of Race. 3 Credits.
Study of the ways political institutions and processes have built race in the United States by employing specific terminology, identifying and policing racial categories, and creating changing definitions of what race actually is. Readings include court cases, census documents, and congressional materials, in addition to secondary scholarship. Prerequisite: POLS 1300 or POLS 1013. Cross-listed with: POLS 2470. Catamount Core: D1.
CRES 2873. Const Law: Civil Rights Amer. 3 Credits.
Critical examination of the role of the judiciary in enforcing the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and other equality-related constitutional provisions. Prerequisite: POLS 1300 or POLS 1013. Cross-listed with: POLS 2370. Catamount Core: D1, S1.
CRES 2881. Racial Inequality in the US. 3 Credits.
A critical analysis of racial inequality and stratification in the United States. Prerequisite: Three hours of Critical Race & Ethnic Studies or Sociology. Cross-listed with: SOC 2370. Catamount Core: D1, S1.
CRES 2990. Special Topics. 1-18 Credits.
Intermediate courses or seminars beyond the scope of existing CRES offerings. See Schedule of Courses for specific titles.
CRES 2991. Internship. 1-18 Credits.
On-site supervised work experience combined with a structured academic learning plan directed by a faculty member or a faculty-staff team in which a faculty member is the instructor of record, for which academic credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion. Prerequisites: A contract must be obtained from and returned to the Critical Race & Ethnic Studies Program office during registration; permission of Director of Critical Race & Ethnic Studies.
CRES 2993. Independent Study. 1-18 Credits.
A course which is tailored to fit the interests of a specific student, which occurs outside the traditional classroom/laboratory setting under the supervision of a faculty member, for which credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion.
CRES 2995. Undergraduate Research. 1-18 Credits.
Undergraduate student work on individual or small team research projects under the supervision of a faculty member, for which credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
CRES 3990. Special Topics. 1-18 Credits.
Advanced courses or seminars on topics beyond the scope of existing CRES offerings. See Schedule of Courses for specific titles.
CRES 3991. Internship. 1-18 Credits.
On-site supervised work experience combined with a structured academic learning plan directed by a faculty member or a faculty-staff team in which a faculty member is the instructor of record, for which academic credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion.
CRES 3993. Independent Study. 1-18 Credits.
A course which is tailored to fit the interests of a specific student, which occurs outside the traditional classroom/laboratory setting under the supervision of a faculty member, for which credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion. Prerequisites: Permission of Director of Critical Race & Ethnic Studies.
CRES 3994. Teaching Assistantship. 1-3 Credits.
Undergraduate student service as a teaching assistant, usually in an introductory-level course in the discipline, for which credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion.
CRES 3995. Undergraduate Research. 1-18 Credits.
Undergraduate student work on individual or small team research projects under the supervision of a faculty member, for which credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion.
CRES 4990. Special Topics. 1-18 Credits.
Advanced courses or seminars on topics beyond the scope of existing CRES offerings. See Schedule of Courses for specific titles.
CRES 4994. Teaching Assistantship. 1-3 Credits.
Undergraduate student service as a teaching assistant, usually in an introductory-level course in the discipline, for which credit is awarded. Offered at department discretion.