Academic Programs
American Indian and Indigenous Studies
Understanding American Indian cultures and identities, the place of Indigenous peoples in today’s world, and the changing demands in the pursuit of cross-cultural diversity are issues that transcend traditional boundaries between academic disciplines. To understand the complexity of these problems and to respond to them thoughtfully, students require a range of training both across disciplines and outside university settings. Michigan State University’s American Indian and Indigenous Studies program is designed to meet this need.
African American and African Studies
African American and African Studies (AAAS) seeks to be open to various ideologies and methodologies for understanding and researching phenomena within local, national, and global Black communities. The mission advocated use of comparative, cross-cultural, and cross-national approaches to enhance an understanding of the Black community and its relationship to other People of Color. The Program calls for a formal mentoring relationship between faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates and a commitment to a global Black consciousness with internships in the United States and elsewhere in the global Black World.
Jewish Studies
The Jewish Studies Minor offers a rich interdisciplinary program which introduces undergraduates to the history, cultures, language(s), identities, religion, and civilization of the Jewish people. Students can choose from among our varied and flexible course offerings, for a minimum of twenty (20) credits, which can be taken while fulfilling the requirements for a major in nearly any field at MSU. Our minor centers on our strengths in American Jewish History and Culture, European Jewish History and Holocaust Studies, Hebrew, Israel Studies, and Judaism and Jewish Philosophy. We emphasize close collaboration with, and advising from, faculty, and offer rich opportunities for undergraduate research. These curricular components are enhanced by our many co-curricular lectures and films designed to enhance classroom experiences and research.
Women and Gender Studies
This interdisciplinary major is designed to provide up-to-date knowledge about women and gender in comparative, transnational, historical, and global perspectives. Students in this major also select a concentration within the major in one of the following areas: Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and History; Sexuality and Conflict/Violence; Gender and Arts and Humanities; or Gender Applied: Health, Urban, and Public Policy. Graduates find career options in both the private and public sector.
Past Courses
Islamophobia
This course aimed to provide students with a working knowledge of (1) the religion of Islam and the core beliefs and practices that have defined Muslim communities; (2) contemporary Muslim radicalism and the responses of Muslim scholars and activists; and (3) contemporary Western anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim discourse and sentiments. This course featured various guest speakers, a visit to a local mosque, and film viewings.
Black Lives Matter
This course examined race and social justice in contemporary American society. Through a focus on historical and contemporary examples of anti-black racism, students grappled with the persistence of and resistance to racial injustice. Topics covered included inequality in education, policing, media, politics, and the arts. The course offered a diverse mixture of guest lecturers, workshops, and films.