I.

Description of Proposed Academic Program (August 11,1995)

A. Title, Degree, College
TITLE: Department of Chicana/o Studies (CCS)
DEGREE: Bachelor of Arts
COLLEGE: Liberal Arts and Sciences
B. Purpose and Nature
Chicana/o Studies (CCS)(1) is the examination of the experiences, culture, artistic endeavors and current
status of people of Mexican descent living in the United States. Interdisciplinary in nature, CCS draws from
the social sciences, humanities, and fine arts to study the Mexican American experience. The proposed
program of study has two specific major goals: to prepare students of all ethnic backgrounds to better
understand and appreciate the diverse nature of American society, and to combine knowledge about the
Chicana/o experience with training in a specific skill area to enable students to work effectively in the
Mexican American community and the larger society. The adoption and implementation of the proposed
program will move ASU to the forefront of the academic studies of the complex, pluralistic nature of
American society. The applied nature of the program also will be important to the ongoing economic
development of Arizona because it will prepare students to function effectively in a culturally diverse society.
Chicana/o Studies, as an organized program of study within higher education, has been in existence for over
twenty-five years. Although scholars, writers, artists and other social critics had been writing about the
Mexican American experience for decades, it was not until the decade of the sixties that American
universities began devoting significant resources to developing departments, programs and other structures to
house the study of Mexicans in the United States. These initial programs resulted from the work of student
activists and a handful of Chicano scholars who called for a more critical and realistic account of the Mexican
American experience. One of the most important was Octavio Romano-V, an anthropologist on the faculty of
the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, who beginning in 1967 wrote a series of
now classic articles in which he characterized traditional scholarship on Mexican Americans as ahistorical,
distorted and biased. He called instead for a new form of scholarship that went beyond looking at Chicanos as
a problem to one that looked at the totality of the Chicano experience in the United States and sought to
reconcile Chicanos' Mexican heritage with their presence in American society.
Prompted by Romano and student activists, Chicano Studies programs proliferated in the late sixties and
seventies as major universities throughout the western United States established such programs. For example,
the University of Arizona, the Berkeley, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Santa Barbara campuses of the
University of California, the University of Houston and the University of Texas are only a few of the
institutions that offer bachelor's degrees in Chicano or Mexican American Studies. Many other, usually
smaller, institutions offer minors or other forms of certification. Overall, approximately 80 colleges and
universities boast some form of Chicana/o Studies on their campuses. While ASU is late in developing CCS,
we have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of previous efforts and to build on those experiences.
As universities created a variety of structures for Chicano Studies programs, scholars in the field began
establishing other institutions necessary for the development of a critical and dynamic academic discipline. A
major advancement in Chicano Studies occurred with the creation of publication outlets and other research
tools for Chicano scholarship. Of crucial importance was the development of scholarly journals such as El
Grito, Aztln, The Journal of Mexican American History, Perspectives in Mexican-American Studies, The
Bilingual Review, The Americas Review and, more recently, Latino Studies. Over the years, non-Chicana/o

Studies journals such as Frontiers, MELUS and The Social Science Journal have published special issues
focused on Mexican Americans. Similarly, publishing houses such as the Bilingual Review Press and Arte
Pblico Press have provided outlets for books in literature and the arts while the University of Texas Press,
Greenwood Press, the University of Notre Dame Press and the University of California Press have
established special Chicana/o studies series to promote publication of monographs in the humanities and
social sciences.
Adding to this intellectual ferment is the existence of a major professional organization, the National
Association for Chicano Studies (NACS). What began in 1972 as a gathering of a handful of faculty and
graduate students committed to pioneering the field in higher education has developed into a national
organization that attracts 1,500 attendees to its yearly conference with representation from throughout the
United States, Latin America and Europe. The conference not only furnishes a forum for the presentation of
Chicano research, it also provides an arena for the discussion of Chicana/o Studies pedagogy. In addition, a
corresponding organization to NACS has emerged in Europe. Founded in 1984, the Association pour la
Diffusion et l'Etude des Cultures Latines en Amrique du Nord holds a biannual conference in which
Chicana/o studies scholars from the United States meet with their European colleagues to present research
and discuss the latest advances in the field.
The net result of this efflorescence has been a profound impact on both intellectual and artistic production
and the nature of a college curriculum. First, Chicana/o Studies has opened up a whole new field of inquiry
that in the past had either been ignored, distorted and/or misinterpreted. The thousands of scholarly and
artistic publications on Chicana/o issues that have been produced in the past twenty years bear witness to the
dramatic success of Chicano research. To cite but one example, in its most recent version The Chicano
Database on CD-ROM lists more than 37,000 sources on Chicano-related topics. The sheer mass of evidence
in these publications has transformed traditional interpretations of the Chicano experience among scholars,
policy makers and the public at large.
Moreover, Chicana/o Studies and other programs like it have broadened the theoretical perspectives and
disciplinary methodologies in the humanities and social sciences.(2) In history, for example, much of the
impetus for social history, "history from the bottom up," has come from ethnic history and women's history.
In both the social sciences and literary studies few works can claim scholarly merit unless they consider
issues of race, class and gender. In addition, the presence of Chicano Studies, along with African American,
Native American, Asian American and Women Studies, has made possible the current movement toward a
multicultural curriculum. These courses of study have redefined the meaning of a college education to include
the important history, heritage and contributions of a fuller range of American society. Chicana/o Studies
programs have thus developed within a rich intellectual environment that has transformed much of higher
education over the past thirty years.
Given this background it follows that Chicana/o Studies shares with other ethnic studies programs and
women studies the major goal of preparing students to better understand and appreciate the diverse nature of
American society. In this sense, CCS by definition fosters and promotes cultural pluralism. Its scholarship
promotes the understanding of and appreciation for the multicultural diversities which define America. By
providing specialized knowledge on one of the largest ethnic minority groups in the United States,(3)
CCS develops metacritical awareness of the importance of ethnicity, race, gender, religion, and
socioeconomic factors in defining the nation as a whole and its members individually. Further, the geographic
location of ASU, along with its bicultural and binational heritage, offers an especially fertile context for
specialized Latino studies. The opportunities are plentiful for relating the demographic and cultural richness
of Arizona and the Southwest to the diverse social and physical environments shared by all Americans--and,
indeed, by all humanity.

The approximately eighty Chicana/o Studies programs that exist in the United States today thus fall well
within the tradition of the liberal arts. This liberal arts perspective is demonstrated in a number of ways. To
begin with, Chicana/o Studies informs students about the nature of the world in which they live, and
especially about the diverse nature of American society. CCS also shares with the other liberal arts the role of
developing students' skills in the areas of critical thinking, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and written
and oral communication. Like the other liberal arts, CCS provides a corpus of knowledge that is essential to
the understanding of the Mexican American experience in the context of American society. The advantage of
a liberal arts orientation is that Chicana/o Studies has been able to attract and develop scholars from within
established humanities and social science fields while at the same time clarifying, broadening and challenging
received traditions of specialization with interdisciplinary perspectives. The proposed program goes further,
however and, through its bidisciplinary options, specifically encourages the practical application of Chicana/o
Studies for career development in selected professions and service to external communities.
The CCS curriculum developed for ASU, with its focus on practical applications, combines the best aspects
of more traditionally defined academic and professional programs. By requiring that CCS majors take a
minor in another field, and by connecting the CCS curriculum with other majors through the minor and/or
certificate programs, Chicana/o Studies prepares ASU graduates for graduate study in such high need career
fields as law, social work, medicine, business, nursing, public health, and education as informed by a program
of study carefully calibrated to enhance the Chicana/o Studies content relating to those professions. Thus, the
second major goal of the CCS program at ASU is to train individuals who have the skills and the knowledge
to be of service to the Mexican American community as well as to the larger society. CCS will thus provide
all students the critical skills and knowledge to function effectively in our increasingly multi-racial, multicultural society.
Specifically, the CCS curriculum has three levels of certification, a major, a minor and bidisciplinary
certificate programs, all of which are linked with other disciplines. The major in CCS requires 45 semester
credit hours within the 120 credit hours for a Bachelor of Arts degree. Of the 45 credit hours required for the
CCS major, students must complete 15 credits in Chicana/o Studies core courses. They must also select 18
credits from one of the following CCS concentrations: 1) language and culture 2) literature and the arts, 3)
the social sciences. Finally, they must choose an additional 6 credits from each of the two concentrations
outside their chosen concentration. CCS majors also are required to take either a minor or a certificate
program of at least 18 credit hours in another academic field. Faculty members will assist students in
preparing their individual program of study to ensure that students' interests and skills are developed and that
they move efficiently through the program. An implementation for the courses required for the major is
presented in Appendix A.
Although a B.A. in Chicana/o Studies prepares a student especially well to work among Mexican Americans,
other Latinos, and other non-Latino bicultural Americans, the degree clearly has wider applicability. Just as a
bachelor's in chemistry, in English, or in psychology may be narrowly employed within directly related fields
but frequently serves much more flexible needs and applications, so, too, would the B.A. in CCS be
employed, as the previous options suggest.
The possible applications of the CCS major to specific vocations, professions, and post-baccalaureate
graduate study are robust and practical. They include:
the practice of law, paralegal preparation, and justice studies;
paramedical preparation;
business fields such as accounting, advertising, marketing, and management;
education from K-graduate study at all levels of teaching and administration;
media, communications, and entertainment fields;
international fields such as banking, health services, law, marketing, government service, etc.

The Chicana/o Studies minor is a condensed version of the major. It consists of a 18 semester credit hour
program constructed in the following manner:
a major in another discipline or field;
one lower division CCS introductory course;
one Chicana/o history course;
at least one course from each of the three CCS concentrations.
A minor in CCS readily expands the ready applications of Chicana/o Studies even more dramatically than
does the major. For example, in combination with the appropriate major, undergraduates with CCS minors
will be uniquely prepared for careers in, but not limited to:
journalism and related fields;
communications, publishing, and related fields;
engineering fields;
the practice of medicine and specialized paramedical fields;
other science and technological areas, etc.;
bilingual education;
social work;
marketing to diverse populations;
public administration.
The bidisciplinary certificate programs are the most innovative part of the CCS curriculum. The purpose of
these "bidisciplinary options" is to combine training in a traditional discipline with comprehensive study of
the experiences of Chicanos and Chicanas in the United States. Generally speaking, these bidisciplinary
options take the form of CCS certificate programs where a student with a major in another discipline takes
courses similar to those required for a CCS minor and, in addition, courses specifically designed to integrate
CCS with the student's major.
While such a bidisciplinary program works with any major, it is particularly useful for students in
professional fields. In such fields the integrative courses are both theoretical as well as experiential. The
outcome will produce "a value-added degree;" that is, an academic or professional degree that provides
training in a specific field of study and also expertise about a population that few others possess. Students
trained in this way will not only be immediately marketable and in increasing demand, but they also will be
able to serve Mexican American communities that are vastly under-served by well-trained professionals.
The CCS curriculum emphasizes a union of the pursuit of knowledge with the learning of practical, technical
skills as essential to baccalaureate studies. Thus, the establishment of Chicana/o Studies at ASU entails the
following justifications: (1) local and regional demographic and linguistic needs will be met with a program
of study suited to the large, and growing, Mexican American bicultural population of the state of Arizona and
the Southwest; (2) national and international cross-cultural needs will be addressed by capitalizing on the
state's cultural and linguistic resources and its proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border; and (3) student demand
for the CCS major, minor and certificates as an option will be satisfied.
C. Requirements
Chicana/o Studies Major
The major in CCS requires 45 semester hours of which a minimum of 30 must be CCS courses and the
remainder in a related field to be approved by the advisor. All CCS majors must take 15 semester hours in the

following core courses: CCS 101, "Introduction to Chicana/o Studies," CCS 111, "Introduction to Chicana/o
Culture," a new two semester sequence in Chicano History and CCS 498, "Pro-Seminar." Within the 45
semester hours, CCS majors also must take 18 credits in one of the following concentrations: 1) language and
culture,(4) 2) literature and the arts, 3) the social sciences, and an additional 12 credits divided evenly
between each of the two concentrations outside the student's chosen concentration for a grand total of 45
semester hours.(5) All CCS majors must take an established minor or credential of at least 18 credits in
another field.
Chicana/o Studies Minor
The CCS minor requires 18 credit hours. All CCS minors must take either CCS 101, "Introduction to
Chicana/o Studies," or CCS 111, "Introduction to Chicana/o Culture," and HIS 430 "20th Century Chicano
History." They must also take at least 3 credits in each of the following CCS concentrations: 1) language and
culture, 2) literature and the arts, 3) the social sciences. Within the 18 credit hour requirement, students must
take a minimum of 12 credit hours in CCS designated courses; any courses taken in a related field must be
approved by the advisor.
Bidisciplinary Certificate Program with Education
The bidisciplinary certificate program between Chicana/o Studies and the College of Education requires 24
semester hours of which a minimum of 12 must be CCS courses and the remainder in closely related fields to
be approved by the advisor. All CCS/Education certificate students must take either CCS 101, "Introduction
to Chicana/o Studies," or CCS 111, "Introduction to Chicana/o Culture," HIS 430 "20th Century Chicano
History;" at least 3 credits in each of the following CCS concentrations: 1) language and culture, 2) literature
and the arts, 3) the social sciences; and CCS 451/MCE 484 "Internship: Multicultural Education." In addition,
students seeking a bilingual endorsement must take CCS 445 "Teaching Chicana/o Studies Content in the
Native Language;" CCS/Education students outside of the bilingual program must take CCS 446 "Teaching
CCS Content in the Schools."(6)
D. Current Courses
Seventeen courses that are appropriate for the Chicana/o Studies major, minor or certificate programs are
currently in the university catalogue. As noted in the list below, however, these existing courses are
concentrated in only a handful of departments.
Chicana/o Related Courses in the Current ASU Catalogue
ENG 363 Chicano Literature
FLA 415 Bilingualism and Language Contact
GCU 344 Geography of Hispanic Americans
GCU 425 Geography of the Mexican American Borderland
HIS 380 History of the Mexican American
HIS 424 The Hispanic Southwest, 1540-1848
HIS 425 The American Southwest, 1848-present

HIS 430 20th Century Chicano History

SPA 319 Business Correspondence and Communication
SPA 412 Advanced Conversation and Composition
SPA 421 Spanish in the Southwest
SPA 464 Mexican American Literature
SPA 471 Civilization of the Spanish Southwest
SPA 485 Mexican American Short Story
SPA 486 Mexican American Novel
SPA 487 Mexican American Drama
WST 373 La Chicana
Various academic units within the university will add strength to Chicana/o Studies. As noted above, the
Departments of English, Languages and Literature, Geography, and History, currently teach Chicana/o
content courses. Other academic units such as the Women's Studies Program, the Center for Latin American
Studies, and the Division of Multicultural Education within the College of Education all have resources that
both complement and support CCS. One singularly important academic unit in the development of Chicana/o
Studies is the Hispanic Research Center. The HRC, with its faculty affiliates, its various outreach programs,
its extraordinary success in attracting external support and its publication arm in the form of the Bilingual
Review Press, will help attract high calibre faculty and support the type of course offerings that will make
CCS a success.
Support of Chicana/o Studies comes from individual faculty members as well as organized academic units. In
response to a survey sent out earlier this academic year, ASU faculty have indicated strong interest in
teaching a minimum of twenty-six new courses that could be used for CCS credit. These courses cover a
broad range of subjects and disciplines and indicate the strong support for and interest in Chicana/o Studies
among ASU faculty.
E. New Courses
Because of the interdisciplinary nature of Chicana/o Studies and the disciplinary imbalances in the existing
course offerings and the teaching interests of current faculty, CCS will need to add a number of new courses
to initiate the major, the minor and certificate programs. Listed below are the key courses that CCS will
propose over the next three years.
CCS 101 Introduction to Chicana/o Studies
CCS 111 Introduction to Chicana/o Culture
CCS 220 Chicana/o Cultural Expression
CCS 300 Chicana/o Culture and Society
CCS 310 Chicana/o Folklore

CCS 315 Chicano Family Structures and Perceptions

CCS 330 Chicana/o Politics
CCS 331 Contemporary Issues in the Chicana/o Community
CCS 336 Issues in Immigration and Migration
CCS 340 Chicana/os in the U.S. Economy
CCS 350 Mexican and Mexican American Artistic Production
CCS 351 Contemporary Chicana/o Art
CCS 363 Chicana/o Literature(7)
CCS 432 Issues in Chicana/o Gender
CCS 445 Teaching Chicana/o Studies in the Native Language
CCS 446 Teaching Chicana/o Studies in the Schools
CCS 484 Chicana Writers
CCS 490 Field Studies in the Chicana/o Community
CCS 498 Pro-seminar
The course descriptions can be found in Appendix B.
F. Accreditation
At the present time, no agency independently accredits Chicana/o Studies programs. There has been much
discussion in recent years within the National Association for Chicano Studies, however, regarding the
development of national standards for CCS programs. The quality of the design of this program along with
the resources already available at ASU ensures that our program will be of the highest caliber and will meet
any standards that NACS may develop.

II. Resources
A. Faculty
1. Current
Listed below are the ASU faculty members who are either currently involved in the development of CCS or
who will participate in the future. A copy of their curriculum vita can be found in Appendix C.
CURRENT ASU FACULTY INVOLVED IN CCS
Daniel Arreola, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Geography
Involvement: Teaches Chicana/o content courses

Felipe Castro, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of the Hispanic Research Center
Involvement: Member of CCS Advisory Committee;(8) teaches Chicana/o content courses; coordinates
common activities between the HRC and CCS
Cordelia Candelaria, Ph.D.
Professor of English
Involvement: Member of CCS Advisory Committee; teaches Chicana/o content courses
Margarita Cota-Crdenas, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Spanish
Teaches Chicana/o content courses
Edward J. Escobar, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of History and Director of the Office of Chicana/o Studies
Involvement: Chair of CCS Advisory Committee; general program administration and development; teaches
Chicana/o content courses
M. Cristina Gonzlez, Ph.D.
Director of College Programs and Campus Communities, Honors College
Involvement: Member of CCS Advisory Committee; teaches Chicana/o content courses
Manuel de Jess Hernndez-G, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Spanish
Involvement: Teaches Chicana/o content courses
Gary Keller, Ph.D.
Regents' Professor of the Spanish
Involvement: Member of CCS Advisory Committee; teaches Chicana/o content courses
Christine Marn, M.A.
Archivist, Chicano Research Collection, University Libraries
Involvement: Member of CCS Advisory Committee, teaches Chicana/o content courses
Miguel Montiel, Ph.D.
Professor of Public Affairs
Involvement: Member of CCS Advisory Committee; teaches Chicana/o content courses
Jos Nez, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology, ASU West
Involvement: Member of CCS Advisory Committee; teaches Chicana/o content courses
Louis Olivas, Ed.D.
Associate Professor of Management and Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs
Involvement: Member of CCS Advisory Committee
Raymond V. Padilla, Ph.D.
Professor of Higher Education
Involvement: Member of CCS Advisory Committee; teaches Chicana/o content courses
Larry Penley, Ph.D.
Professor of Management and Dean of the College of Business

Involvement: Member of CCS Advisory Committee

F. Arturo Rosales, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of History
Involvement: Teaches Chicana/o content courses
Wendy K. Wilkins, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English and Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Involvement: Member of CCS Advisory Committee
2. New Faculty Needed
Over the next five years Chicana/o Studies will need a total of eight new FTE faculty lines to staff the
curriculum and administer the department. Five FTE of these lines will be for tenured and tenure track core
faculty within CCS. The other three FTE faculty lines will be used to create joint appointments to specifically
staff the bidisciplinary certificate programs. It is anticipated that a total of four FTE faculty appointments will
be made over the next three years. In addition, over the next three years Chicana/o Studies will request
support to teach up to eight courses a year by either "buying out" the time of current ASU faculty to teach
CCS courses or by hiring faculty associates.
3. Current Student and Faculty FTE
The first course with a CCS prefix at ASU was taught in the Fall, 1994 semester and produced a student
enrollment of 15. Courses with Chicana/o Studies content that have been offered in various ASU departments
in previous years have consistently drawn large enrollments.(9) Similar enrollments levels are expected for
future CCS courses.
The current faculty allocation for CCS is largely for administration and development. This support is
approximately .50 for the 1994-95 academic year.
4. Proposed Student and Faculty FTE(10)
The projected student FTE presented in the accompanying table is based on typical courses of three credit
hours and an estimated student enrollment of 45. The enrollment estimate is in turn based on the previous
enrollments in Chicana/o related courses in other departments. Overall, the student to faculty FTE ratio for
CCS is similar to the student to faculty FTE ratio in comparable College of Liberal Arts Sciences
departments.(11)
Table 1
PROPOSED STUDENT AND FACULTY FTE
Fall, 1995 to Spring, 1998

Semester
Student
FTE
Faculty
FTE

Fall 95

Spring 96

Fall 96

Spring 97

Fall 97

Spring 98

58

45

114

126

170

160

2.5

2.5

4.5

4.5

5.5

5.5

Adjunct Faculty FTE

.5

.75

B. Library
To the extent that Chicana/o Studies has existed in an organized manner at ASU, it has existed within the
University Libraries. Beginning in 1970, with the founding of the Chicano Studies Collection, the Library has
acknowledged the need to establish a core collection of materials to support scholarship on the Chicana/o
experience. Over the years, the collection has grown to keep pace with the rapid expansion of Chicana/o
studies research production under the excellent guidance of Christine Marn. In 1989 the collection was
reorganized into the Chicano Research Collection and placed within the Department of Archives and
Manuscripts which includes the Arizona Collection and the University Archives. The Collection's current
holdings of primary and secondary materials greatly enhance the scholarly activities of CCS faculty and
students. The main area of growth will be to continue to acquire new materials as they become available.
Current holdings are sufficient to support an undergraduate major in Chicana/o Studies.
C. Physical Facilities and Equipment
The administrative office for Chicana/o Studies is currently housed in a suite that includes Rooms 240 and
242 in Dixie Gammage Hall. Additional office space and equipment will be needed as the CCS faculty grows
over the next three to five years. (See Section II, A above.) Office space also will be needed to house graduate
assistants. The director of Chicana/o Studies has already begun negotiations with the Office of Academic
Facilities to acquire office space at the south end of the second floor of Dixie Gammage Hall for CCS.
Existing classroom space in various buildings throughout the campus is more than adequate for housing CCS
courses.
D. Other Support
1. Currently Available
The Motorola Corporation has donated a $30,000 gift to develop Chicana/o Studies at ASU. This money has
been used to obtain the services of distinguished experts in the field as consultants to the Advisory
Committee in developing the academic program. The money also has been used to fund a series of colloquia
and forums that highlight the accomplishments of ASU faculty doing Chicana/o related research.
2. Needed Additions
Some additional support staff will be needed as CCS grows over the next three years. The Administrative
Assistant position which is currently funded at 75% time should be upgraded to 100% and a half time
secretary will need to be hired. In addition, half time Graduate Assistants (10 hours per week) will need to be
hired.

III. Need and Demand

A. Chicana/o Studies at Other Arizona Institutions
The University of Arizona currently offers a program in Mexican American Studies. The program offers a
major and minor with a traditional liberal arts and social science emphasis. The U of A program, however, is
not readily available to potential students from the Phoenix metropolitan area who, because of a lack of
mobility and/or funding, cannot attend the U of A.

B. Chicana/o Studies at Institutions in Other WICHE States

Chicana/o Studies programs also exist at institutions in the following WICHE states: California, Colorado,
New Mexico, Utah, and Washington. These programs are not readily available to potential students from the
Phoenix metropolitan area.
C. Local and National Need
The need for a Chicana/o Studies program of study stems from two factors: 1) the importance of citizens
gaining an understanding of and an appreciation for the increasingly diverse nature of American society; 2)
the importance of integrating the Mexican American population into the social and economic mainstream of
American life by training professionals to address that community's needs. This section will address both of
these issues as well as the demand for CCS courses from ASU students and the potential for employment for
CCS graduates.
American racial minorities (African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans and Native
Americans) are now, and for the foreseeable future will continue to be, a significant segment of the American
population. Mexican Americans along with the larger "Hispanic" population constitute the second largest and
fastest growing minority group in the country. In the state of Arizona, Chicanos are an even more important
group. Estimates of the Mexican American population within the state range from a low of sixteen to a high
of twenty percent. As in the rest of the nation, Chicanos are the fastest growing minority group in the state
and in the region.(12)
Not only are Mexican Americans an increasingly important part of our national and statewide population,
they also comprise a group with a unique culture and heritage. The distinctive nature of the Mexican
American population derives, at least in part, from its social and economic alienation from the mainstream of
American life. Data from the 1990 census indicate that Chicanos as a whole continue to struggle with low
incomes, high unemployment, low educational attainment, high levels of incarceration and poor health status,
to name just a few indicators. But Mexican Americans are not defined only by the obstacles that the
community faces. Chicanos also possess a rich and abiding culture that is characterized by strong family
values, fervent patriotism, a diligent work ethic, an ardent sense of community, deep religious commitment,
and an enduring pride in their Mexican heritage. Chicanos thus have added to American culture and society a
rich and dynamic wealth of heritage, knowledge and experience.
Unfortunately, these positive aspects of Chicano culture are not always recognized or appreciated and thus
some people see Chicanos' distinctiveness with suspicion, and, at times, even hostility. ASU has undertaken
as its mission to overcome these attitudes by helping students gain an understanding and an appreciation for
America's pluralism. According to ASU's 1994-1996 General Catalogue, the "university's teaching, research
and service programs seek to instill in students sensitivity to other races and cultures. . . . The university
seeks to expand cultural horizons, enhance respect for human diversity, improve moral and ethical standards,
and educate for responsible citizenship while preparing its graduates to accept and perform capably in
rewarding careers in our pluralistic society."
ASU has sought to operationalize these broad objectives by instituting "Cultural Diversity in the United
States" as one of the "Awareness Areas" in the University's General Studies Program requirements. That
requirement, however, has not been fully implemented primarily because ASU does not offer a sufficient
number of classes that allow students to meet the requirement and complete their degree in four years. CCS
will help remedy a critical local curricular need by creating a coherent and organized course of study in the
Mexican American experience and, in the process, also will expand the number of courses that meet the
diversity requirement. Moreover, by adopting this proposal the University will make the statement that it
values diversity not only in society but also in its own curriculum. Finally, simply on the strength of its

presence on campus and the intellectual vitality flowing from its faculty and students, Chicana/o Studies will
contribute to the ongoing discussion on the issue of the pluralistic nature of American society.
The applied nature of Chicana/o Studies also will help address the critical need within the Mexican American
community for professionals trained with specific knowledge of that community. Data from the 1990 census
show that Hispanics are under-represented in a broad range of important professions at both the national and
state level. In Arizona, for example, the professions in which Mexican Americans are under-represented
include the following: architecture, elementary and secondary teaching, health management, marketing and
advertising, nursing, public administration, social work and urban planning. Each of these are areas where
ASU has strong programs. Chicana/o Studies, with its bidisciplinary focus, will be able to build strong
linkages with these areas to train more professionals with knowledge of the Mexican American community.
These professionals, which may be of any ethnicity, will then be able to work within the community to
alleviate many of the social and economic difficulties mentioned above. The end result will be a better
integrated, more productive Mexican American population, a population that will be in a better position to
contribute to the social and economic development of Arizona and the nation.
ASU students have already demonstrated the need and demand for Chicana/o Studies courses. The History
Department, for example, offers two courses with explicit Chicano content, HIS 380, "History of Mexican
Americans" and HIS 430, "20th Century Chicano History." Since Fall 1991, these two courses have been
consistently oversubscribed, with average enrollments exceeding 100% of capacity. Chicano Literature
courses offered through the English Department during the same period have experienced similar enrollments
while newer or more specialized courses in other departments or programs such as Geography or Spanish
also have impressive enrollment to capacity ratios.(13) The first course with a CCS prefix was offered at ASU
in Fall, 1994. CCS 294, "Survey of Chicano Studies" had an enrollment of fifteen(14). A second CCS course,
"Chicano Culture and Society," has been offered in Spring 1995. It has an enrollment of twenty-eight out of
an original projected capacity of twenty-five. These figures indicate a strong and growing student demand for
Chicana/o content courses. The creation of the innovative and intellectually challenging program of study
proposed here will, we believe, stimulate even more student interest.
Finally, there are strong indications that students with Chicana/o Studies training will have excellent
prospects in the job market. The growing Mexican American population and the chronic shortage of
professionals with training to serve that community, indicate a ready market for CCS graduates. Moreover,
major employers have indicated the need for professionals with Chicana/o Studies training. Motorola,
Arizona's largest employer, recently acknowledged the importance of this enterprise through a significant
show of financial support for the development of CCS. In conversations with ASU representatives, Motorola
officials indicated that they see the development of CCS as important to the future economic development of
the state. Similarly, Chicanos por la Causa, one of the oldest and most important community development
corporations in the nation, has called for a partnership between ASU and CPLC in which CCS would play a
major role in training current and future employees to work in that agency's numerous enterprises.
D. Degrees Awarded
Chicana/o Studies has not yet awarded any degrees.

V. Financing
A. External Support
Chicano-focused academic activities are clearly not mere consumers of resources but generators of resources
as well. The Hispanic Research Center, for example, has had an extraordinary record of success in obtaining
funding from external sources, and has repeatedly brought in funds from national foundations (including Pew

Charitable Trusts, the Carnegie Corporation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation) that had never previously
awarded funds to ASU or to any of the universities in Arizona. As noted, Chicana/o Studies already has
attracted external funding. Citing the importance of Chicana/o Studies to the future economic health of
Arizona, the Motorola Corporation has given CCS a $30,000 gift for the development of the program. In
addition, the potential development of Chicana/o Studies is an important component in a preliminary
proposal to the Ford Foundation from the Graduate College and Chicanos por la Causa to develop a
"Community Development Fellows Program." If funded, this program would bring over $500,000 to the
university over five years to train people to work for CPLC and other community development corporations.
CCS thus has great potential to continue to attract external funding in the form of research grants,
solicitations and gifts, training, student support and other sources.
Conclusion
The interdisciplinary CCS degree program will contribute to the University's academic enrichment in a
manner wholly appropriate to a comprehensive metropolitan university in the American southwest. First, the
proposed degree will generally enhance student recruitment and retention and in particular among those
interested in bicultural studies. Second, the proposed degree is absolutely essential for excellence in the
education of Latinos and for leadership in research and teaching on Mexican American issues. Third, through
its outreach to cultural and community networks, the proposed degree enhances healthy outreach to the
Maricopa County area, to surrounding counties, and to greater Arizona. Fourth, as a complement to other
majors (e.g., business, education and public programs), the proposed degree will contribute to the
development of outstanding binational and international programs.

New Academic Degree Program Budget Projections

Explanations of Budget Items

Continuing Expenditure
Other Items: The $1500 is for a work-study student assistant
One - Time Expenditure

Other: The $5000 is for a computer network server

Other Items: Chicana/o Studies has received a $20000 gift from the Mototrola Corporation for
the development of the program

APPENDIX A
CCS Curriculum Three Year Implementation Plan
The implementation plan provided here is designed to facilitate the movement of students through the major.
Organized as a listing of CCS course offerings over six semesters, it provides the necessary courses for
students to meet all the requirements for the major in three years. These include the required CCS core
courses(15) and a sufficient number of courses to meet both the thirty credit hour (ten course) requirement in
CCS courses and the eighteen credit hour (six course) requirement for each of the concentrations. Students
also will be able to meet this last requirement by taking Chicana/o content courses in other departments and
taking courses in "related fields." The courses listed include those provided in Appendix B as well as topics
courses to be developed by incoming faculty. The concentration each course will meet is noted in
parentheses. All the courses listed will be worth three credit hours.
Fall 1995(16)
CCS 194 Introduction to Chicana/o Studies (core)
CCS 294 Introduction to Chicana/o Culture (core)
CCS 394 Chicana/o Culture and Society (language and culture)
CCS 394 Chicana/o Literature (literature and the arts)
CCS 394 Contemporary Issues in the Chicana/o Community (social sciences)
Spring 1996
CCS 220 Chicana/o Cultural Expression (language and culture)
CCS 315 Chicana/o Family Structures and Perceptions (social sciences)
CCS 394 Special Topics in the Social Sciences (social sciences)
CCS 432 Issues in Chicana/o Gender (social sciences)
Fall 1996
CCS 101 Introduction to Chicana/o Studies (core)
CCS 111 Introduction to Chicana/o Culture (core)
CCS 300 Chicana/o Culture and Society (language and culture)
CCS 330 Chicana/o Politics (social sciences)
CCS 331 Contemporary Issues in the Chicana/o Community (social sciences)

CCS 336 Issues in Immigration and Migration (social sciences)

CCS 351 Contemporary Chicana/o Art (language and culture) (literature and the arts)
CCS 363 Chicana/o Literature (literature and the arts)
CCS 394 Special Topics in the Social Sciences (social sciences)
CCS 394 Special Topics in the Arts (literature and the arts)
Spring 1997
CCS 101 Introduction to Chicana/o Studies (core)
CCS 111 Introduction to Chicana/o Culture (core)
CCS 220 Chicana/o Cultural Expression (language and culture)
CCS 310 Chicana/o Folklore (language and culture)
CCS 350 Mexican and Mexican American Artistic Production (literature and the arts)
CCS 394 Special Topics in the Arts (literature and the arts)
CCS 394 Special Topics in the Social Sciences (social sciences)
CCS 432 Issues in Chicana/o Gender (social sciences)
CCS 484 Chicana Writers (literature and the arts)
CCS 490 Field Studies in the Chicana/o Community (social sciences)
CCS 498 Pro-seminar (core)
Fall 1997
CCS 101 Introduction to Chicana/o Studies (core)
CCS 111 Introduction to Chicana/o Culture (core)
CCS 300 Chicana/o Culture and Society (language and culture)
CCS 315 Chicana/o Family Structures and Perceptions (social sciences)
CCS 330 Chicana/o Politics (social sciences)
CCS 331 Contemporary Issues in the Chicana/o Community (social sciences)
CCS 336 Issues in Immigration and Migration (social sciences)
CCS 340 Chicana/os in the U.S. Economy (social sciences)

CCS 351 Contemporary Chicana/o Art (language and culture) (literature and the arts)
CCS 363 Chicana/o Literature (literature and the arts)
CCS 394 Special Topics in the Arts (literature and the arts)
CCS 394 Special Topics in the Social Sciences (social sciences)
CCS 394 Special Topics in Literature (literature and the arts)
CCS 394 Special Topics in Cultural Studies (language and culture)
CCS 445 Teaching Chicana/o Studies in the Native Language (certificate)
CCS 446 Teaching Chicana/o Studies in the Schools (certificate)
CCS 498 Pro-seminar (core)
Spring 1998
CCS 101 Introduction to Chicana/o Studies (core)
CCS 111 Introduction to Chicana/o Culture (core)
CCS 220 Chicana/o Cultural Expression (language and culture)
CCS 310 Chicana/o Folklore (language and culture)
CCS 350 Mexican and Mexican American Artistic Production (literature and the arts)
CCS 394 Special Topics in History (social sciences)
CCS 394 Special Topics in the Arts (literature and the arts)
CCS 394 Special Topics in the Social Sciences (social sciences)
CCS 394 Special Topics in Language (social sciences) (language and culture)
CCS 394 Special Topics in Cultural Studies (language and culture)
CCS 432 Issues in Chicana/o Gender (social sciences)
CCS 484 Chicana Writers (literature and the arts)
CCS 490 Field Studies in the Chicana/o Community (social sciences)
CCS 498 Pro-seminar (core)

APPENDIX B
Chicana/o Studies Courses to be Proposed in the Next Three Years

CCS 101 Introduction to Chicana/o Studies

An introduction to historical and contemporary issues in the Chicana/o community. Interdisciplinary in
nature, this course will focus on the economic, sociological, cultural and political status of Mexican
Americans in the United States.
CCS 111 Introduction to Chicana/o Culture
An interdisciplinary analysis of the customs, values, belief systems and cultural symbols of Mexican
Americans. Special attention is paid to cultural continuity and change.
CCS 220 Chicana/o Cultural Expression
Introduction to Chicana/o artistic expression with special attention to the interrelation between Mexican
Americans' economic, social and political status and various forms of artistic expression such as popular
music, dance, drama, literature and the graphic arts.
CCS 300 Chicana/o Culture and Society
An intensive analysis of how Mexican American writers, artists, film makers, entertainers and academicians
have interpreted various aspects of the Chicana/o experience in the United States.
CCS 310 Chicana/o Folklore
An analysis of Chicana/o folk beliefs, traditions and practices.
CCS 315 Chicano Family Structures and Perceptions
Traditional and changing relationships in the Mexican American family. Special emphasis is placed on
gender and intergenerational relations and the impact of modern society on traditional familial values.
CCS 330 Chicana/o Politics
Historical and contemporary analysis of Chicana/o political ideologies, attitudes, strategies, and movements;
relations with governmental agencies; and participation in the American political process.
CCS 331 Contemporary Issues in the Chicana/o Community
Provides students with a historical, demographic and sociological overview the status of Chicana/os in the
United States and of the salient issues affecting that community.
CCS 336 Issues in Immigration and Migration
A historical and contemporary overview of Mexican immigration into and within the United States. Focus on
economic factors affecting population movement, settlement patterns and the incorporation of the migrants
into American society.
CCS 340 Chicana/os in the U.S. Economy
Historical and contemporary analysis of Mexican Americans' relationship with the American economic
system. Emphasis on the impact of the changing American economy on the Chicana/o community.
CCS 350 Mexican and Mexican American Artistic Production

An overview of Mexican and Mexican American artistic production from colonial times to the present.
Various forms of artistic expression are studied, including architecture, painting, sculpture (and three
dimensional art), music and theater. Special emphasis on religious and folk art.
CCS 351 Contemporary Chicana/o Art
An intensive analysis of the contemporary Chicana/o art movement as appraised within the context of
contemporary American Art and the art of Mexico. Provides a survey of Chicano and Chicana artists and
developments in painting, sculpture, graphic and conceptual art in the second half of the century.
CCS 363 Chicana/o Literature
Same as ENG 363
CCS 432 Issues in Chicana/o Gender
Analysis of the social construction of Mexican American gender identities. Special emphasis on the impact of
American and Mexican cultural values on normative gender relations.
CCS 445 Teaching Chicana/o Studies in the Native Language
Approaches and techniques for the infusion of Chicana/o Studies content into the elementary and secondary
education curriculum. Designed especially for bilingual elementary and secondary school teachers who enroll
in the Chicana/o Studies bidisciplinary certificate program with an emphasis in education. Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite: Proficiency in Spanish.
CCS 446 Teaching Chicana/o Studies in the Schools
Approaches and techniques for the infusion of Chicana/o Studies content into the elementary and secondary
curriculum. Emphasis is given to the cultural and linguistic assets of the Chicana/o community that can be
incorporated into the school curriculum to enhance student interest, promote awareness of Chicana/o culture
and enhance achievement. Designed for teachers who enroll in the Chicana/o bidisciplinary certificate
program with education, education majors specializing in English as a Second Language and other teachers
who intend to work in areas with high concentrations of Mexican American students.
CCS 484 Chicana Writers
Critical reading of Mexican American women authors. Special emphasis on contemporary (post-1970)
poetry, novels, short stories, essays and plays by Chicana writers.
CCS 490 Field Studies in the Chicana/o Community
An introduction to the principles and methods of qualitative research applied to Chicano community settings.
Students will learn to critically examine social situations by identifying a problem or issue, gathering and
analyzing data from the field and preparing a research report. The course will be taught collaboratively so that
students will receive feedback on their work from both peers and the instructor.
CCS 498 Pro-seminar
Required course for majors on topic selected by instructor. This is a writing intensive course related to the
development of interdisciplinary research skills.

1. The terms Chicano and Mexican American will be used interchangeably throughout this document. Use of
Chicana/o serves to abbreviate "Chicana and Chicano" to indicate gender inclusiveness.
2. Gary D. Keller, Rafael J. Magallan and Alma M. Garca, editors, Curriculum Resources in Chicano
Studies. (Tempe, Arizona, Bilingual Review Press, 1989); Mary Romero, editor, Syllabi & Instructional
Materials for Chicano Studies, (Washington D.C.: American Sociological Association, 1985).
3. Preliminary 1990 U. S. Census data indicates that, along with other Hispanics, Mexican Americans will
constitute the largest U. S. ethnic minority group within thirty years.
4. Spanish is not specifically required for the CCS major. Students electing the language and culture
concentration, however, are expected to demonstrate proficiency in Spanish sufficient to participate in courses
where Spanish is the medium of instruction. In addition, students electing one of the other concentrations will
be advised to fulfill their College of Liberal Arts and Sciences language requirement with Spanish.
5. A list of existing and potential courses to fulfill this requirement is attached.
6. The bidisciplinary certificate program between Chicana/o Studies and the College of Education is going
through the approval process in that College and thus is still subject to further refinement.
7. Cross-listed with ENG 363.
8. CCS Advisory Committee members' duties include program and curriculum development, acting as a
personnel committee and subcommittee work (i.e., sitting on search committees.)
9. Statistics compiled by the University Office of Institutional Analysis, "Chicano Related Courses at ASU,"
1990-1994.
10. Student FTE are calculated by dividing expected SCH by 15 for Lower Division courses and by 12 for
Upper Division courses.
11. Arizona State University Office of Institutional Analysis, "Enrollment Summary, Fall Semester, 1993,"
June 1994.
12. The United States Census Bureau has traditionally under counted the number of Mexican Americans and
thus other data have to be used for gaining accurate estimates of that population. For example, ASU's Office
of Institutional Analysis places the Hispanic population of the state at 18.8%.
13. Chicano content courses in the Department of Foreign Languages are typically upper division and the
courses are taught in Spanish.
14. This course was targeted to students who have opted for a campus community theme house related to
Chicana/o Studies and was only listed in addendum to the Schedule of Classes.
15. The Department of History offers the required history core courses on a yearly basis.
16. The courses for Fall 1995 are shown with omnibus course numbers as listed in the schedule of classes..
Thereafter, the courses are shown with course numbers as the will be proposed.