Learning Race to Unlearn Racism: The Effects of Ethnic Studies Course-Taking

• In Event: Learning and Development Through Racialized Contexts

Abstract

Ethnic Studies coursework offers students an opportunity to understand racism in its structural and socio-historical complexity. Because enrollment is self-selected, it is unclear what effect such coursework may have above and beyond other confounding college experiences. To address this persistent methodological challenge, we use propensity score matching to investigate whether Ethnic Studies course-taking is associated with students’ understanding of structural racism and cross-racial empathy. Using a restricted sample (N=3,098) from the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen—a longitudinal study of first-time freshmen at 28 selective colleges in 1999—we find a statistically significant association between enrolling in Ethnic Studies courses with attitudinal shifts that we theorize may help students to be better prepared for a racially diverse and complex society.

Authors

• George Spencer, New York University

• Janine de Novais, Harvard University