Augsburg to launch Critical Race and Ethnicity Studies department, major

Augsburg University is developing a new Critical Race and Ethnicity Studies Department.

The new department aligns with Augsburg’s mission and responds to a proposal developed by a group of students, faculty, and staff that was presented to the administration and approved by the faculty this year. A group of students, led by Black women, made similar (as-yet unrealized) demands after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

The department aims to meet the needs of today’s students with culturally relevant courses and pedagogy that both centers and equips them to think critically about their experience in the world. It will advance the university’s public mission through connections with the community.

This year, the plan is to hire three new faculty in Pan-African, Latinx, and Asian American studies. Once they’re hired, Augsburg will review next steps, as well as how other departments can connect their own courses and faculty to the new department.