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DEPARTMENT OFFICE
King Hall C4069
Phone: (323) 343-2190
E-mail: chicano@calstatela.edu
Website: http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/chs/index.htm

Chicano Studies provides an intensive investigation of the largest racial/ethnic group in the United States. The department’s approach is multidisciplinary with specific offerings in history, social science, culture, language, psychology, literature, arts, and politics of the Chicana/o and Latina/o communities. The curriculum seeks not only to acquaint students with a breadth of knowledge about Chicanas/os and Latinas/os, but also to expose them to theoretical perspectives specific to this area of study. The program seeks to connect these migrant and diasporic communities with transnational changes and their impact on their places of origins as well as a dialogue with African American, Asian American, and Native American Studies.

Chicano Studies provides preparation appropriate for careers in education, human services, public policy, law, medicine, the business profession, and for graduate study and research.

The vital presence and increasing significance of the Chicano(a) and Latino(a) communities in Los Angeles and Southern California allows unique research opportunities for students of Chicano Studies.

The Faculty

Professors: Francisco E. Balderrama, Roberto Cantú, David Diaz, Michael Soldatenko (chair).
Associate Professors: Dionne Espinoza, Ester Hernández, Valerie Talavera-Bustillos.
Assistant Professors: Bianca Guzmán.
Emeriti: Leonel A. Maldonado, Louis R. Negrete.

The program in Chicano Studies includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mexican-American Studies and a minor in Chicano Studies for students who are majoring in other fields. The program also supports two new minors: Central American Studies and Mesoamerican Studies.

The Credential Program

The Bachelor of Arts degree in Mexican-American Studies with Option II satisfies the subject matter requirements for the Multiple Subject CLAD/BCLAD Teaching Credential. For detailed information about these credentials, consult advisers in the department and in the Charter College of Education. Refer to the Charter College of Education  section of this catalog for regulations governing all credential programs.

Programs for this Department:

Undergraduate Major

• Mexican-American Studies, B.A. 
Undergraduate Minor

• Central American Studies Minor 
• Chicano Studies Minor 
• Mesoamerican Studies Minor 
Graduate Major

• Mexican-American Studies, M.A. 
Credential

• Mexican American Studies Credential Program 
 

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