S.F. State University Hosts Conference To Celebrate, Further Explore Ethnic Studies: At a time when some pundits and critics contend that ethnic studies are no longer needed, the dean of the only U.S. college devoted to the discipline calls the struggle to survive a collective one.
“The current attack on ethnic studies is really one on the public trust in general,” says Dr. Kenneth Monteiro, dean of San Francisco State University's College of Ethnic Studies. “This attack is against public support for accessible health, education, a variety of causes. We in ethnic studies aren't isolated anymore.”
Monteiro's observations coincide with an academic conference kicking off today at SFSU called “Race, Resistance and Relevance.” The four-day event commemorates the 40th anniversary of the founding of the discipline and the founding of SFSU's ethnic studies college, which now boasts 50 full-time faculty teaching 6,000 students annually.
