Race and Resistance Studies
College of Ethnic Studies
Dean: Dr. Grace Yoo
Race and Resistance Studies Department
Ethnic Studies and Psychology Building 103
(415) 405-0389
Chair: Dr. Falu Bakrania
Professor
Falu P. Bakrania (2005), Professor in Race and Resistance Studies. Ph.D. Stanford University.
Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade (2004), Professor in Latina/Latino Studies, Professor in Race and Resistance Studies. Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley.
Amy Sueyoshi (2002), Professor in Race and Resistance Studies, Professor in Sexuality Studies. Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles.
Associate Professor
Rabab Abdulhadi (2007), Associate Professor in Race and Resistance Studies. Ph.D. Yale University.
Jason Ferreira (2005), Associate Professor in Race and Resistance Studies. Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley.
Assistant Professor
Rama Ali Kased (2020), Assistant Professor in Race and Resistance Studies. Ed.D. SF State University.
Leora Kava (2020), Assistant Professor in Race and Resistance Studies. Ph.D. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Ponipate Rokolekutu (2019), Assistant Professor in Race and Resistance Studies. Ph.D. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Omar Zahzah (2023), Assistant Professor in Race and Resistance Studies. Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles.
Senior Lecturer
Larry Salomon (1994), Senior Lecturer in Race and Resistance Studies. Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley.
RRS 100 Introduction to Ethnic Studies (Units: 3)
History, objectives, and philosophy of Ethnic Studies as a political project and academic field. The relational examination of communities of color/indigenous nations and their experiences with structures of power and traditions of resistance. [CSL may be available]
(This course is offered as ETHS 100 and RRS 100. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
Course Attributes:
- D1: Social Sciences
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 101 Introduction to Arab and Muslim Communities (Units: 3)
Introduction to Arab and Muslim communities studies in U.S. and Americas and Asian and African ancestral homelands. Employing Arab, Muslim, Ethnic, Race and Resistance, Gender and Sexuality, American Middle East, Diasporas, Ethnicity Studies and Social Movement theory.
Course Attributes:
- C2: Humanities
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 103 Introduction to Pacific Islander Studies (Units: 3)
Examination of historic and contemporary issues of and experiences related to Pacific Islander communities in the United States and across the Pacific Islander diaspora.
(This course is offered as RRS 103 and AIS 103. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
Course Attributes:
- U.S. History
- D2: Social Sciences: US Hist.
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 110 Critical Thinking and the Ethnic Studies Experience (Units: 3)
Basic skills involved in understanding, criticizing, and constructing arguments by using materials reflective of experiences of Indigenous and racialized groups in the U.S.
(This course is offered as ETHS 110 and RRS 110. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
Course Attributes:
- A3: Critical Thinking
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
RRS 201 SFSU's Palestinian Cultural Mural and the Art of Resistance (Units: 3)
Critical investigation of the roles public art plays in transnational social justice movements, historically and currently. Examination of the history and legacy of Palestine Cultural Mural at San Francisco State University.
Course Attributes:
- C2: Humanities
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 212 Edward Said (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: RRS 101.
Course Attributes:
- C2: Humanities
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 220 Race and Dis/Ability (Units: 3)
Cultivate a better understanding about structural racism and disability activism. Explore key principles of disability justice, a framework developed by activists with disabilities in response to limitations in rights-based approaches and mainstream disability advocacy. study historical and contemporary discourses of law, medicine, and media that constructs certain bodies as "healthy" or "disabled." Analyze the political and ethical implications of sharing illness experiences as acts of resistance and care.
Course Attributes:
- GE-F: Ethnic Studies
RRS 240 All Power to the People: Comparative Freedom Movements of the "Sixties" (Units: 3)
Introduction to the history and comparative survey of the African American, Chicana/o, Native American, and Asian American protest and liberation movements of the "Long Sixties" (1945-1975). [CSL may be available]
Course Attributes:
- U.S. History
- D2: Social Sciences: US Hist.
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Social Justice
RRS 250 Race, Ethnicity and Power in America (Units: 3)
Critical examination of political concepts, processes and constructions of power that center race and ethnicity within a comparative analysis of American ideals, institutions and laws. Includes a study of constitutional issues and state and local governmental processes.
Course Attributes:
- U.S. Govt CA State Local Govt
- D3: Social Sciences: US CA Gov
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Social Justice
RRS 252 Beyond Bars and Borders: Race and the Carceral State (Units: 3)
Examine the intersection of race and the carceral state. A comparative exploration of how diverse communities of color have experienced and struggled against racialized regimes of incarceration and displacement. Highlights how these racialized regimes that center on controlling the movement (or lack thereof) of communities of color are shaped by class, gender, and nation. Studies race and the carceral state in both domestic and global/transnational terms.
Course Attributes:
- U.S. History
- D2: Social Sciences: US Hist.
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
RRS 255 Voices in Exile: Arab and Muslim American and Civil Liberties post-9/11/2001 (Units: 3)
Changes post 9/11/2001, focusing on how Arab and Muslim Americans are affected. The case of the LA8, Sami Al-Arian, and Rasmeah Odeh will be used as a case study to analyze how government actions have affected Arab and Muslim Americans' civil liberties.
Course Attributes:
- D1: Social Sciences
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 260 Introduction to Arab and Arab American Feminisms (Units: 3)
Writings by Arab and Arab American feminists to explore assumptions on and about Arab and Arab American experiences in the United States from multiple geographical sites, spiritualities, occupations, sexualities, class backgrounds, and generations.
Course Attributes:
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 270 Creativity, Decolonization, and Social Justice in Oceania (Units: 3)
Historical survey of Pacific Islander literacies--not just on the page, but on the stage, on film, in community, in oratory, and in reading land, water, and environment. Introduction to the use of creative expression as a backbone of social justice and decolonization in Oceania. Focus on creative writing, literary studies, social justice, and diaspora in Oceania studies. Exploration of the ways Pacific Islanders have organized and resisted colonialism through artistic practice and the power of the word.
RRS 275 Introduction to Pacific Islander Literature: How To Read An Ocean (Units: 3)
Examine Pacific Islander writers and their histories of shaping terms and definitions of literature within Oceania as a region and beyond. Explore Pacific Islander narratives about the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, colonialism, resistance, sovereignty, climate change, and understandings of connection to the environment through a wide range of reading materials, including novels, short stories, poetry, creative non-fiction, and academic essays. Emphasis on the ways in which Pacific Islander literatures shape complex and interconnected reflections of Oceania, ultimately speaking to the power of storytelling.
Course Attributes:
- C2: Humanities
RRS 276 Race, Activism and Climate Justice (Units: 3)
Examination of the intersection of race, socio-economics, political ecology and climate change on a global scale; overview of the scientific evidence for anthropogenic causes and impacts; and exploration of environmental justice, political ecology, disparate impacts on different peoples and activism on global and local levels.
Course Attributes:
- B2: Life Science
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Environmental Sustainability
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 280 Disrupting Science Fiction: Race, Gender, and Alternative Futures (Units: 3)
Interrogate dominant narratives of power in the genre of science fiction. Examine the intersections of race, gender class, and sexuality, centering how Indigenous people and people of color writers challenge oppression and create possibilities for the future. Includes examing the histories of slavery, removal, displacement, and colonization as well as resistance and liberation.
Course Attributes:
- C2: Humanities
- C3 or C2: Humanities/Lit.
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
RRS 282 Art and Cultural Practices of Oceania (Units: 3)
Acquire an understanding of the relationships of art, culture, and power to Pacific peoples through the various forms of art found within Oceania. The practice of critical analytical skills in art criticism.
RRS 285 Race, Sports, and Society (Units: 3)
Examines connections between race, "politics" and high-profile professional sports in the United States and abroad. Multiple issues explored using interdisciplinary approach, including critical race theory and socio-historical and socioeconomic constructs.
Course Attributes:
- GE-F: Ethnic Studies
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
RRS 290 Sounds of Resistance: Race, Rhythm, Rhyme, and Revolution (Units: 3)
Examination of intersection of music and freedom movements within and across communities of color. A comparative exploration of how music reflects and shapes social struggle, flowers out of people's interconnected histories and cultures, promotes both critical consciousness and collective action, and serves as a multifaceted weapon in the fight for human liberation. Studies music and social movements in both domestic and global/transnational terms.
Course Attributes:
- C1: Arts
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Global Perspectives
RRS 295 Race, Public Art, and Creative Resistance (Units: 3)
Introduction to the history of public arts among Indigenous people and communities of color in the United States. Examines how artists have used public art to contest dominant racialized narratives and to promote new visions of community, of society, and of social justice. (Plus-minus letter grade only)
Course Attributes:
- GE-F: Ethnic Studies
RRS 303 Health and Wellness among Pacific Islanders (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- E1 LLD Pre-Fall 2019
- UD-B: Physical Life Science
- Social Justice
RRS 304 Decolonize Your Diet: Food Justice and Gendered Labor in Communities of Color (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- UD-B: Physical Life Science
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Environmental Sustainability
RRS 310 Arab Revolutions and Social Movements (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- UD-D: Social Sciences
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 312 Arab and Arab American Literary Expressions (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: Restricted to upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.
RRS 330 Comparative Race and Ethnicity in the U.S.: Class, Gender, and Nation (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division standing; GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better; or permission of the instructor.
(This course is offered as RRS 330 and SOC 330. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
Course Attributes:
- UD-D: Social Sciences
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Social Justice
RRS 331 Research with Communities (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division standing; BIOL 100 or BIOL 230; or permission of the instructor.
(This course is offered as BIOL 331 and RRS 331. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
RRS 333 Race and Independent Cinema (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Cinema majors and minors and Race and Resistance Studies minors; CINE 200*, CINE 211*, and CINE 212* or equivalents with grades of C or better; or consent of the instructor.
(This course is offered as CINE 333 and RRS 333. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
RRS 360 Our Stories: Literatures of Race and Resistance (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
RRS 365 Race and Comedy in the United States (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1, A2, A3, and B4 or consent of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
RRS 370 Islamophobia: Roots, Development, and Contestation of Hatred (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better; ETHS 100*/RRS 100*; or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- UD-D: Social Sciences
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 375 Queer Arabs in the U.S. (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- Social Justice
RRS 380 Queer and Trans Ethnic Studies (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division standing; GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better; or permission of the instructor.
(This course is offered as RRS 380 and SXS 380. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
Course Attributes:
- UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Social Justice
RRS 410 Grassroots Organizing for Change in Communities of Color (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division standing; GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better; or permission of the instructor.
(This course is offered as RRS 410 and SOC 410. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
Course Attributes:
- UD-D: Social Sciences
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Social Justice
RRS 415 Reclaiming the Bay: Grassroots Struggle Against Racial Capitalism (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- UD-D: Social Sciences
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Environmental Sustainability
- Social Justice
RRS 420 Arab American Identity: Memory and Resistance (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- UD-D: Social Sciences
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 430 Arab Media Images in America: Impact on Arab Americans (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- UD-D: Social Sciences
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 433 Pacific Islanders in Film: Re-Presenting Oceania Through an Indigenous Lens (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or consent of the instructor.
(This course is offered as RRS 433 and AIS 433. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
Course Attributes:
- UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
RRS 435 National Security and the Racialization of Arabs and Muslims in North America (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better; ETHS/RRS 100*; or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- UD-D: Social Sciences
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Global Perspectives
RRS 450 Contemporary Arabic and Arab American Literature (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division standing; GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better; or permission of the instructor.
(This course is offered as RRS 450 and ARAB 450. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
Course Attributes:
- UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Global Perspectives
RRS 470 Radical Trans Imagination (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: RRS 380* (may be taken concurrently) or permission of the instructor.
RRS 473 Slavery and Antislavery in the United States (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Upper-division standing; GE Area E; or permission of the instructor.
(This course is offered as HIST 473, RRS 473, and LABR 473. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
RRS 480 Youth Culture, Race and Resistance (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- UD-D: Social Sciences
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Social Justice
RRS 490 Race, Art, and Social Justice (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.
RRS 499 Race, Class, & Climate: Examining the Root Causes, Impacts, and Just Solutions to the Climate Crisis (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: Graduate Certificate in Pk-12 Climate Justice Education students.
RRS 520 Race, Radicalism and Revolution (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- GE-F: Ethnic Studies
RRS 560 Undocumented Studies (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
RRS 566 Gender and Modernity in the Muslim and Arab Worlds (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1, A2, and A3.
(This course is offered as WGS 566 and RRS 566. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
Course Attributes:
- GE-F: Ethnic Studies
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 571 Women, Race, and Class (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Environmental Sustainability
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 580 Educational Equity (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division standing; GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better; or permission of the instructor.
(This course is offered as LTNS 580, SOC 580, and RRS 580. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
Course Attributes:
- UD-D: Social Sciences
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Social Justice
RRS 590 Senior Capstone (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: Restricted to senior Race and Resistance Studies majors.
RRS 600 History of People of Color in the U.S. (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or graduate standing or permission of the instructor.
(This course is offered as RRS 600 and HIST 466. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
Course Attributes:
- U.S. History
- GE-F: Ethnic Studies
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Social Justice
RRS 620 Colonialism, Imperialism, and Resistance (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- UD-D: Social Sciences
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 625 Mixed Race Studies: A Comparative Focus (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- UD-D: Social Sciences
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Social Justice
RRS 630 Palestine: Ethnic Studies Perspective (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- UD-D: Social Sciences
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 640 Race and Sexual Migration (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.
(This course is offered as RRS 640, SXS 640, and WGS 640. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
RRS 645 Sex, Race, Lies, and Love in San Francisco (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.
(This course is offered as RRS 645, SXS 645, and WGS 645. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
RRS 655 Comparative Border Studies: Palestine and Mexico (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: ETHS 100 or permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes:
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Environmental Sustainability
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 657 South Asian Diaspora (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better or permission of the instructor.
(This course is offered as RRS 657 and AA S 541. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
Course Attributes:
- UD-D: Social Sciences
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Global Perspectives
- Social Justice
RRS 675 Variable Topics in Race and Resistance Studies (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.
Topics:
- Communities of Color and Reproductive Justice
- People of Color and Transnational Sexualities
- Race and Visual Studies
- Cultural Studies and Ethnic Studies
- Race, Gender, and the Welfare State
- The Racial Politics of Immigration
- Ecofeminism and Race
- Queer of Color Theory
- Radical Trans Imagination
RRS 694 Community Engaged Learning: Praxis in Race and Resistance Studies (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or permission of the instructor.
RRS 699 Independent Study (Units: 1-3)
Prerequisite: Permission of the adviser, instructor, and program coordinator.