Ethnic Studies
In one of the most versatile programs at Lewis & Clark, you have the opportunity to make the ethnic studies minor your own. We examine the social, cultural, and historical forces that have shaped racial and ethnic formations in Portland, the United States, and around the world.
Why Choose a Minor in Ethnic Studies?
Our program focuses on five themes: colonialism, community formation, diaspora, genocide, and slavery. We explore these and related topics from a variety of perspectives, always conscious of how they intersect with gender, sexuality, class, and nation. Our students graduate with skills in critical thinking, writing, and speaking, and an openness to learning about people, cultures, and societies different from themselves and their own world.
What You’ll Study
Our interdisciplinary program is dedicated to teaching the construction of categories of race and ethnicity through our five themes. You will take one interdisciplinary core course, Introduction to Ethnic Studies, and a wide selection of electives offered across departments. Many of our students earn course credit while on an overseas program.
Outside the classroom, the annual Ray Warren Symposium on Race and Ethnic Studies is organized by a committee of students with support from faculty and staff. This multiday, interdisciplinary event addresses complex topics such as immigration and nationalism, transnational families, and racial inequality. Scholars, students, public figures, writers, artists, and community members come together for a series of workshops, lectures, performances, panel discussions, and a student-curated art exhibit. The symposium ends with the Race Monologues, a powerful event that features a series of personal monologues about racial and ethnic identity written and presented by L&C students of color. Our program also creates critical workshops that respond to current issues as a way to facilitate discussion between the larger student body and Portland, and we regularly engage in dialogue featuring speakers who are experts in their field. Every spring, we celebrate our graduating ethnic studies minors with a dinner hosted by the program director and key faculty members.
Connect With Lewis & Clark!
Complement Your Education With One of These Majors
The most popular majors for our ethnic studies minors are English, Hispanic studies, and sociology and anthropology.
What Students Are Saying About Lewis & Clark
Damaris Medina BA ’25More about DamarisWhat I love about my ethnic studies minor is learning the history of things that I never was taught in K-12 education, and I get to dive deeper into the missing gaps. It really opened my eyes and I became more curious about what other gaps needed to be filled in my history education.
Rocío Yao BA ’24More about RocíoAs a cochair for the Ray Warren Symposium, we explored how storytelling can be a tool of resistance, power, and oppression that some may overlook. I love being part of the process of creating meaningful events for the campus, and the most exciting part is seeing them come to life.
Alicia McMahon BA ’25More about AliciaMy minor in ethnic studies has taught me about social constructs and has provided a more complete and nuanced understanding of present-day circumstances.
What Can You Do With a Minor in Ethnic Studies?
Our alumni use their minor in ethnic studies in a variety of careers in nonprofit organizations, academia, and advocacy work. Many go on to pursue advanced degrees in American studies, anthropology, history, law, and other disciplines.
Dedicated Faculty
Our expert professors are your expert mentors. You will learn directly from faculty (no graduate assistants here!) that are nationally recognized in their fields of study and are engaged in issues central to ethnic studies in our local and international community. Your professors will inspire you to be a thoughtful and passionate participant in a diverse world. Your small classes will support you as you explore new ideas, find your voice, and speak your truth.
Invest in Yourself
A private liberal arts education is often more affordable than you think. Last year, Lewis & Clark distributed over $74 million in assistance from institutional, federal, state, and private sources. Additionally, we’re so confident that our first-year students will graduate in four years with their bachelor of arts degree that if you don’t, we’ll cover the extra semester of tuition.
Find Your People
Students can join a variety of student-run organizations that relate to their ethnic studies degree, like the Ray Warren Symposium on Race and Ethnic Studies and Students for Transformative Action, Abolition, Resilience (STAAR). Don’t see what you’re looking for on the club list? Start something new and build your own community of peers!
Lauren Fleming BA ’19More about LaurenI moved to Seattle to begin my library science
degree, which I finished in June 2022. I currently work as a bookseller at Third
Place Books.
Shalini Hanstad More about ShaliniThe most important thing I learned at Lewis & Clark was the transformative power of community.
Featured News
Reiko Hillyer, 2025 Oregon Book Award Finalist
Congratulations to Reiko Hillyer whose book A WALL IS JUST A WALL: THE PERMEABILITY OF THE PRISON IN THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY UNITED STATES (Duke University Press, 2024) is a finalist for the 2025 Oregon Book Awards in the category of General Nonfiction.
