Ethnic studies centers expanding
Centers overcome challenges, make advancements
By Betty Song
After 25 years of existence, UCLA’s ethnic studies programs
continue to grow. As they tackle new challenges and meet new needs,
the centers’ silver anniversary marks a celebration of achievements
past and present.
In 1969, mounting community and campus pressures for ethnic
studies created centers for the study of American Indian, African
American, Asian American and Chicana/o peoples.
Today, the centers are still expanding their original goals to
educate and serve the students and communities. Significant changes
within the centers focus on curricular reform, new technology and
increasing community dialogue.
In the area of curricular reform, the American Indian Studies
Center recently won approval to offer an introductory class on
contemporary Native American life.
In addition, the center completed a proposal to establish an
American Indian studies minor, said Duane Champagne, director of
the American Indian Studies Center.
In light of these accomplishments, the center hopes to find more
faculty for the existing masters program and for the future minor
program this year, Champagne said.
"The weakness of the minor is that there isn’t enough faculty to
have more choice (in classes)," said Champagne, who will be team
teaching the new introductory class this spring. More faculty would
also increase the center’s research capabilities, he added.
One of the center’s goals is to dispel Native American
stereotypes with a new curriculum, said Derek Milne, book review
editor for the center’s cultural and research journal.
"A lot of ideas are rooted in the past," said Milne, a
fourth-year anthropology graduate student. "(People) have a ‘Dances
with Wolves’ mentality. The introductory class will give a
contemporary look at what (Native American) life is like, and not
what the pop culture media shows," added Milne, who will also be a
teaching assistant for the new course.
Besides curriculum changes, other centers are also implementing
new communication technology to establish stronger ties with the
community.
Through a computer-based communications network, the Center for
African American Studies is establishing contact with community
organizations in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. A new
interactive newsletter allows the center to share their latest
research and receive comments and suggestions from the
community.
Establishing stronger ties with the community is one of the
major goals of the Center for African American studies, Director J.
Eugene Grigsby said.
"We want to make sure that the content of what we’re teaching
continues to be relevant as we move into the 21st century," said
Grigsby, adding that what the center teaches can become a basis to
solve problems in the metropolitan areas.
Current public policy research puts classroom theory into
practice, Grigsby said. The center recently published two books
discussing the role of national urban policy, and the issue of
nationwide housing segregation in regards to the African-American
population.
Other centers are also taking advantage of computer technology
to foster community relations. With a new federal grant, the Asian
American Studies Center and five Asian American organizations in
Los Angeles can participate in the information superhighway.
"It establishes a telecommunications infrastructure between the
five groups and (we) serve as a national demonstrative project for
collective (work) between universities and Asian American community
groups," said Don Nakanishi, director of the Asian American Studies
Center.
The program will facilitate various field studies programs and
allow the community to gain access to the center’s resources,
Nakanishi explained.
To take advantage of having the nation’s largest faculty for
Asian American studies, the center hopes to establish research
programs in public policy, mental health, the arts and humanities
and medicine, Nakanishi added.
But before being able to focus on curricular reform, new
technology and strengthening community ties, Chicana/o studies must
resolve more basic issues.
Since the creation of the Cesar Chavez Center for
Interdisciplinary Chicana/o Studies in 1993, efforts are
concentrated on fully establishing the structure and staff of the
center, said Abel Valenzuela, assistant professor for the ethnic
studies program.
"Getting the department functioning is half of the (issue),"
Valenzuela said. "(We have to get) the courses up and running,
create rules and policies and allocate office space and
supplies."
The center is now in the process of hiring three tenured
professors to add to the six existing faculty and staff members.
Future goals include development of courses and restructuring the
undergraduate program, Valenzuela added.
Many Chicana/o students view student involvement as a major
concern in the development of the center, said Margarita Gonzalez,
women’s unit coordinator for MEChA, a Chicana/o students’ advocacy
group.
"We’ve had (communications) problems in the past," Gonzalez
said. "We want more students (involved) when (the faculty) make any
decisions and have discussions."
Establishing faculty and student committees for events will help
students become more involved, Gonzalez added.
Although each center is concentrating on their own special
issues, interethnic research at UCLA is on the horizon, Grigsby
said.
"We have a proposal for the Ford Foundation to sponsor faculty
interested in interethnic research," Grigsby said. A joint catalog
listing the publications from the four ethnic studies centers on
campus will be available at the end of the year, he added.
Most of the centers have held ongoing silver anniversary
celebrations so far. The Center for African American Studies will
kick off its celebration March 24.