The merging of the African American Studies Department with Social Sciences has raised concerns about the future of Ethnic Studies on the San Jose State University campus, reports the Spartan Daily.
Hien Do, the faculty director of Asian American Studies says students need not to worry.
“We are stable,” Do said with lower division courses such as Asian American Studies (Asian Americans in the United States Historical and Political Process) fully enrolled and highly sought after.
Many of the Asian American Studies courses offered fulfill general education requirements, and add to the program’s security, according to Do
He said the long term goal is to establish a major in Asian American Studies and eventually go into a department.
Currently the program is under the umbrella of the College of Social Sciences which includes Interdisciplinary Social Sciences which Asian American Studies is a part.
Recently the University decided to merge African American Studies into the same umbrella.
“The department may go away, but that program will be merged into the sociology and disciplinary social sciences, which also contains Asian-American studies and Women’s studies,” said Jan English-Lueck, College of Social Sciences associate dean.
“If anything, there should be more classes available.” –
English-Lueck said no ethnic studies program is in jeopardy.
