With spring registration officially open, many students are trying to figure out what classes they should take. Some are trying to finish their last year at Delta strong, while others are still figuring out their educational path. New ethnic studies and ethnic literature courses are two additions to the class schedule students should pay attention to.
Ethnic Studies courses have been offered since this Fall semester, and most students will be required to attend one.
In July 2021, California Community College Board of Governors agreed to add a requirement that all community college students take at least one 3 unit ethnic studies course in order to graduate.
“Whatever a student’s academic goal is, taking an ethnic studies course is a requirement,” said Dr. Malika Hollinside, who is the head of the Ethnic Studies department at Delta College. “California sees the value in educating people about the others that we live with.”
Right now, three different classes are being offered: Intro to Black and African American Studies, Intro to Chicana/Chicano Studies, and Intro to Asian American studies. There are hopes to expand the department with an Intro to Native Studies class.
“It’s important to have a professor that is part of that ethnic group to teach these courses,” said Hollinside.
There are also hopes to hire a permanent Chicana/Chicano studies professor. Currently, Hollinside, who is Black and Puerto Rican, is teaching both Black and Chicano studies. Professor Eugene Gambol teaches Asian American Studies.
According to Hollinside, students who began attending Delta College in the Fall 2021 semester will be required to take an Ethnic Studies course. Students who have been attending Delta before that point will not be required. However, it is recommended students check with a counselor to see what classes they are required to complete. Currently, only students who plan on receiving an AA degree or transferring to a CSU/UC are required to take said courses.
Another addition to the class schedule are new ethnic literature classes. There are four classes that are going to be offered in Spring: Contemporary African American Literature, Asian American Literature, Indigenous Literature, and Latina/o Literature.
“So much of the Western literary canon is made up of novels written by white men 100 and 200 years ago,” said Professor Jessica Morrow, who teaches the courses. “Our student body has a majority people of color population, so it’s important for students to be able to read literature that represents a spectrum of experiences.”
Professor Morrow hopes that these classes allow for students to discover a wider array of perspectives that may not have been available in a typical English class.
“When I was in high school,” Morrow recalled, “I often had a hard time identifying with the characters in the novels we read. When I designed these courses, I wanted to make sure we had a much larger range of literature than what is usually offered.”
Both of these new sets of courses have had previous histories in Delta. From the late 1960s through the mid 70s, ethnic studies and literature courses were offered. The Collegian’s archives contain stories about the history of those courses.
“In as early as 1970, there was Black studies, Mexican studies, and Filipino studies. Then they went away, and now they’re being brought back,” Hollinside said.