• Skip to Content
  • AZ Index
  • Bulletin Home
  • Institution Home

Wake Forest University

Wake Forest logo
  • A-Z icon Directories
  • Search people icon Search People
  • Social media icon Social Media
Popular Searches
  • Majors and Minors
  • Tuition and Fees
  • Academic Calendar
  • Athletics
  • Employment
  • Human Resources
  • Event Calendar
  • Bookstore
  • Study Abroad

Academic Bulletin

  • Home
  • Programs of Study
  • Courses A-Z
  • Calendars
  • Archive
  • Apply Now
  • Home/
  • Departments/Programs/
  • American Ethnic Studies (AES)

American Ethnic Studies (AES)

  • Overview
  • Programs
  • Courses
  • Faculty

Interdisciplinary Minor

The American Ethnic Studies Program at Wake Forest University is a multicultural and multiracial research and teaching unit, dedicated to providing knowledge in the study of race, class, gender and ethnicity. Through the programs’ curricula focus on several major ethnic groups including, African American, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, and  Chicanos, students learn interdisciplinary, ethnic-specific, and comparative concepts, theories, and methods of inquiry, which shape the cultural, literary, social, historical, economic, and political character of selected American ethnic communities.

Contact Information

American Ethnic Studies
Kirby Hall 313
Phone 336-758-4497

Minor

  • Minor in American Ethnic Studies

American Ethnic Studies (AES)

AES 232. The American Jewish Experience. (3 h)

An interdisciplinary course exploring Jewish immigration to America with a primary focus on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

AES 234. Ethnicity and Immigration. (3 h)

An exploration of the socio-historical dynamics of the peopling of America in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. (CD)

AES 236. Multi-Ethnic Dance. (3 h)

Exploration of the cultural importance of dance in major ethnic groups in American society. Also listed as DCE 236. (CD)

AES 251. Race and Ethnic Diversity in America. (3 h)

Different race and ethnic experiences are examined through an institutional approach that examines religion, work, schooling, marriage patterns, and culture from cross-cultural perspective. Grand theoretical schemes like the "melting pot" are critiqued for their relevance in an age of new cultural expectations among the many American ethnic groups. Also listed as WGS 251. (CD)

AES 265. Culture and Religion in Contemporary Native America. (3 h)

Interdisciplinary survey of American-Indian culture, including the arts and literature, religions, and historical changes. Special emphasis is placed on the impact of the Conquista, encounters with Northern Atlantic societies, and contemporary developments. Also listed as REL 265 and HMN 285. (CD)

AES 300. American Ethnic Literature and Film. (3 h)

Through a discussion of cinematic and literary works from the Caribbean, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa, this couse explores how artists have created a space in which to find their voice and cultural identity within both a global and personal history.

AES 310. Race, Class, and Gender in a Color-blind Society. (3 h)

Examines issues surrounding race, class, and gender in the United States. Topics include income and wealth, theories of discrimination, public education, gender bias, and patterns of occupational and industrial segregation. Also listed as EDU 310.

AES 341. Africans in the Atlantic World, 1750-1815. (3 h)

Explores Africans' experience in the Atalantic world (Africa, Europe and the Americas) during the era of the slave trade by examining their encounters with Indians and Europeans and their adjustment to slave traders in West Africa. Also listed as HST 341. (CD)

AES 357. Studies in Chicano/a Literature. (3 h)

Writings by Americans of Mexican descent in relation to politics and history. Readings in literature, literary criticism, and socio-cultural analysis. Also listed as ENG 357. (CD)

AES 358. The Italian Experience in America. (3 h)

Explores issues of ethnicity and identity in the Italian-American experience. A central goal of this course is to understand the inter-relationship of social, economic and political factors that impinge on this large European ethnic group.

AES 370. Immigration Practices in the U.S. and the European Union. (3 h)

Explores the history and theory of immigration practices in the U.S. (after 1800) and the European Union (after its establishment in 1957) and compares the discourses and public policies in the two regions.

AES 387. African-American Fiction. (3 h)

Selected topics in the development of fiction by American writers of African descent. Also listed as ENG 387. (CD)

AES 389. African-American Poetry. (3 h)

Readings of works by American poets of African descent in theoretical, critical, and historical contexts. Also listed as ENG 389. (CD)

AES 390. Special Topics. (1.5, 3 h)

American ethnic studies topics of special interest. May be repeated for credit if topic varies.

AES 396. Independent Study. (1-3 h)

Independent projects in American Ethnic Studies which either continue study begun in regular courses or develop new areas of interest. A maximum of 3 hours may apply to the minor. By prearrangement.

Director Ana-Maria Wahl
Professor Ulrike Wiethaus
Lecturer Sherriann Lawson Clark

2020-2021 Bulletin

  • The Academic Calendar
  • The University
  • Wake Forest College
  • Procedures
  • Financial Aid
  • Special Programs
  • Global Programs
  • Requirements for Degrees
  • Departments/​Programs
    • Academic Community Engagement (ACE)
    • African Studies (AFS)
    • American Ethnic Studies (AES)
      • American Ethnic Studies, Minor
    • Anthropology (ANT)
    • Art (ART)
    • Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB)
    • Bioethics, Humanities and Medicine (BHM)
    • Biology (BIO)
    • Chemistry (CHM)
    • Classics (CLA)
    • Communication (COM)
    • Computer Science (CSC)
    • Counseling (CNS)
    • Cultural Heritage and Preservation Studies (CHP)
    • East Asian Languages and Cultures (EAL)
    • East Asian Studies (EAS)
    • Economics (ECN)
    • Education (EDU)
    • Engineering (EGR)
    • English (ENG)
    • Entrepreneurship (ENT)
    • Environmental Program (ENV)
    • Film and Media Studies (FLM)
    • French Studies (FRH)
    • German and Russian (GER/​RUS)
    • Global Trade and Commerce Studies (GTCS)
    • Health and Exercise Science (HES)
    • Health Policy and Administration (HPA)
    • History (HST)
    • Interdisciplinary Honors (HON)
    • Interdisciplinary Humanities (HMN)
    • Interdisciplinary Major (IND)
    • International Studies (INS)
    • Jewish Studies
    • Journalism (JOU)
    • Languages Across the Curriculum (LAC)
    • Latin-​American and Latino Studies (LAS)
    • Linguistics (LIN)
    • Mathematics and Statistics (MST)
    • Medieval and Early Modern Studies
    • Middle East and South Asia Studies
    • Military Science (MIL)
    • Music (MUS)
    • Neuroscience (NEU)
    • Philosophy (PHI)
    • Physics (PHY)
    • Politics and International Affairs (POL)
    • Psychology (PSY)
    • Religions, Study of (REL)
    • Russian and East European Studies (REE)
    • Self-​Instructional Languages (SIL)
    • Sociology (SOC)
    • Spanish and Italian (SPA/​ITA)
    • Theatre and Dance (THE/​DCE)
    • Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGS)
    • Other Courses
  • Wake Forest University School of Business
  • Wake Forest College Faculty
  • School of Business Faculty
  • Emeriti
  • Enrollment
  • Governing and Advisory Boards
  • The Administration
  • Courses A-​Z
  • Programs A-​Z
  • Archive

Print Options

  • Print this page

    Send this page to the printer.

  • Download this page

    Save this page as a PDF.

  • Download the bulletin

    Save the entire bulletin as a PDF.

Wake Forest logo

1834 Wake Forest Road
Winston-Salem, NC 27109
336.758.5000

  • Contact Us
  • Emergency
  • Privacy Policy
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • social.wfu.edu
Back to Top