Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas
Housed in the historic College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University alongside the studies of Indigenous communities and other communities of color, the AMED Studies program is framed within a justice centered perspective that is grounded in the need for accountability and service to multiple publics, including those within and outside of the academic community. AMED generates and advances a counter narrative that views Arab and Muslim communities as communities of color within the US, in the Americas, and transnationally across other diasporas. AMEDs intellectual focus and framing will complement and build on the Comparative Ethnic Studies approach that is central to the Race and Resistance Studies Program in the College of Ethnic Studies.
Critical Pacific Islands and Oceania Studies Initiative
Critical Pacific Islands and Oceania Studies at SF STATE ensures that academic and communal spaces reflect the work and needs of Oceanic communities in the Bay Area and globally. Our educational mission is to honor the experiences and stories of Oceanic/Pacifika peoples throughout the diaspora, and to privilege those narratives that are often forgotten and marginalized. Our interdisciplinary program is focused on historical and contemporary topics related to California, US-Pacific politics, and Pasifika cultures. Our curriculum uses an indigenous lens to discuss Native epistemologies of Oceania that challenge imperialism, colonialism, militarism, and globalization, while also highlighting the resiliency and power of our Ocean.
Queer and Trans Ethnic Studies
SF State's College of Ethnic Studies has actively promoted Queer Ethnic Studies for the past 15 years. It has aggressively incorporated curricula in sexuality studies, implemented new courses such as “AIDS and People of Color” and “Latino Sexualities” and hired scholars working at the intersection of race and queer studies. Today, one in four of our tenured/tenure-track faculty have expertise in queer studies, and a third of our graduate students pursuing one of our two M.A. degrees (Asian American Studies and Ethnic Studies) are engaged in thesis projects on queer and/or trans people of color. In 2015, the College of Ethnic Studies mounted a Queer Ethnic Studies Initiative as part of its strategic plan to mobilize faculty expertise, to begin a graduate student scholarship and to investigate a degree program on queers of color. Beginning Fall 2019, students can declare a Minor in Queer and Trans Ethnic Studies.
