Ethnic Studies

Enrollment Message

Students need access to a webcam or video recording device.

Course Description

Ethnic Studies is a course designed to view the historical development and experiences of various cultures and trace the path of how things came to be for those groups today. To understand the entire story of Ethnic Studies, it is crucial to understand the origins of race. It is important to understand the stories of those who have been on the other side of the history books, and to grasp their perspective of how things have played out. This course is designed to examine the histories of four major ethnicities in the United States - African Americans, Latino Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. We will look at the origins of each group and look at why they came to the United States (or how they were affected by those who came to the United States), the policies that shaped their historical experiences, and how each ethnicity has emerged from this process. We will study some of the key figures from each group, and the struggles they went through (and continue to go through) to gain equality, respect, and a voice in American society for their people. Ethnic Studies is intended to open your eyes to the varying experiences of those who have been marginalized in American history and to understand how their story fits into the American story. Only by understanding the experiences of the past can we begin to grasp the events of today and shape the world to be a better place in the future.

• Counts as an elective for all diplomas

Course Goals

Upon completion of the course, students will…

• analyze and apply concepts of culture and assimilation.
• analyze and apply concepts of “race”, ethnicity, racism, and ethnocentrism.
• analyze and apply concepts of implications of discrimination, slavery coerced Americanization, colonization, and color consciousness on the social experiences of men and women of color.
• contrast and compare ethnic group experiences.
• analyze and apply the concept of “race”.
• evaluate judicial systems and the implications for the ethnic group experience.
• evaluate continuing effects of discrimination.
• interpret key civil and human rights legislation.
• evaluate past and present processes of de jure and de facto segregation.
• distinguish concepts of immigration, migration, emigration, and push-pull factors.
• distinguish economic and other contributions of ethnic groups to the United States.
• distinguish ethno-socio-historical perspectives of African and African Americans, Asian and Pacific Island Americans, Mexican/Latino/a Americans and Native Americans.

Indiana Academic Standards

• Ethnic Studies

Units of Instruction

• Unit 1 The Origins of Race and Ethnicity
• Unit 2 Historical Experiences of African Americans
• Unit 3 Historical Experiences of Latino Americans
• Unit 4 Historical Experiences of Asian Americans
• Unit 5 Historical Experiences of Native Americans
• Unit 6 The Modern Condition of Race and Ethnicity

Grading/Evaluation

Indiana Online does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue transcripts or diplomas. A final score reported as a percentage of total points earned will be sent to students upon completion of a course. Your school of record can also access this score within the Student Information System, Genius. The final score will be shown as a percentage in Canvas and Genius. The student’s school of record will determine the letter grade based on their specific grading scale.

Students must complete at least 70% of the course and take all parts of the final exam(s) to have a score reported to their school of record. Failure to meet these requirements will result in a score of 0 reported to the school of record.

Assessments

Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, teacher-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments. The course includes the minimum number of assessments

• 29 Assignments
• 20 Quizzes

The assessments for this asynchronous course are weighted as follows

Teacher Contact Response Time

Students can use email or the private message system within Genius or Canvas to access highly qualified teachers when they need teacher assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside Canvas. The Teacher Information page of their course may describe additional communication options.

The teacher will respond to student inquiries (email, text, call) within one business day. Assignments will be graded and posted within two business days.

Expectations for Academic Conduct 

Student Handbook 

It is your responsibility to read the student handbook to understand all aspects of taking an online course including expectations for academic conduct. Contact your teacher if you have any questions. 

Assistance for Students with Accommodations

Indiana Online supports an inclusive learning environment for all students. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that hinder your full participation, such as inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned videos and podcasts, reasonable accommodations can be arranged.

Technology

Technology Requirements 

Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube. Please review the Indiana Online’s Technology Requirements.

Technical Skills Needed 

Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to

• download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
• download and install software
• use a messaging service similar to email
• communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
• open attachments shared in messages
• create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
• save a file as a .pdf
• copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
• insert images or links into a file
• search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
• work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
• activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
• use presentation and graphics programs
• follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
• use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
• create and maintain usernames and passwords

Technical Questions?  Please contact the Indiana Online Helpdesk.