All articles tagged with #ethnic studies
The University of Texas at Austin has eliminated four majors, including African, Latino, and gender studies, without public notice. Faculty learned of the cuts via email, as the provost’s office rejected their proposal to retain the programs. While current students can finish their degrees, new enrollments are blocked, reflecting a broader conservative push to restrict race and gender education in Texas.
The University of Texas at Austin has officially ended enrollment in four majors, including African and Mexican American studies, after the provost’s office rejected a faculty proposal to retain them. This move aligns with a broader national trend of dismantling diversity-focused programs, though current students may still complete their degrees.
California aims to implement ethnic studies in all public high schools by 2025, but faces controversy over its treatment of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The discipline, which focuses on Black Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian Americans, has a leftist, activist spirit and includes the Palestinian experience of displacement. California's 700-page model curriculum captures much of this spirit but omits discussions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, instead emphasizing "multiple perspectives" on political issues.
Andrea Smith, a prominent ethnic studies professor at the University of California, Riverside, has agreed to retire next year following accusations that she falsely claimed to be Native American. The separation agreement allows her to keep her position until August 2024, teach classes until then, and retain retirement benefits, but she will not be listed in the university's directory as an emeritus professor. The agreement avoids an investigation into the faculty complaint and potential legal battles. While some Native scholars see this as a form of accountability, they lament that Smith did not acknowledge deception, and the university allowed her to evade a reckoning by not investigating the accusations.