Campus Highlight: Consortium of Critical Interdisciplinary Studies
When I first came to Barnard, I had no clue what I wanted to do or what major I wanted to pursue. I originally anticipated majoring in Economics, and spent my first semester struggling through an introductory class before realizing that Economics was definitely not for me. After that, I had no idea what to do next, and looking at the list of courses expanded my options instead of narrowing them down. Some of the departments, majors, and courses offered included things I had never even heard of, and I wanted to explore everything! During the spring semester of my first year, I decided to take an Introduction to American Studies class. Over the course of this, it became clear that I should pursue an American Studies major, allowing me the flexibility to also hold internships during the year, work as a Barnard Student Admissions Representative, and pursue other academic interests, including a second major in French & Francophone Studies. The American Studies major gives you the freedom to explore what you’re truly passionate about, and it exists within a larger consortium of programs, the Consortium of Critical Interdisciplinary Studies.
The Consortium of Critical Interdisciplinary Studies (CCIS) is a joint effort by Africana Studies, American Studies, and Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies. Professors and faculty of this program are incredibly dedicated to creating an intellectual community across disciplinary boundaries that allows students to pursue and connect their varied interests. CCIS offers students and faculty intellectual space to transform the frameworks commonly used for thinking through issues of ethnicity and race in both local and global contexts. The program also gives Barnard students the opportunity to pursue an interdisciplinary and critical study of race and ethnicity in combination with gender, class, and nation.
If you pursue any one of these majors — Africana Studies, American Studies, and Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies, you’ll have access to the resources of all three departments, and can choose concentrations and minors based on those interests. As an American Studies major, I’m choosing to concentrate in Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies, meaning I am taking classes from both departments (and a list of others) to fulfill my major requirements. These three departments, based on their curriculum, events, and faculty, provide an intersectional view of New York, the Americas, and the world. In addition to pursuing a major in one of these three departments, and therefore joining the Consortium in that way, you can also pursue the ICORE/MORE pathways. The ICORE, or the Interdisciplinary Concentration on Race and Ethnicity is a concentration added to the major. The MORE, or the Minor on Race and Ethnicity is a separate minor. (More information on these programs here.) Both of these pathways allow students to study race and ethnicity in conjunction with the other work they’re pursuing, and these programs provide interdisciplinary, intersectional, and international frameworks for thinking through issues of ethnicity and race in relation to other forms of social difference.
Just like everything else at Barnard, the CCIS program is what you choose to make of it. As an American Studies major, I’ve made meaningful connections with professors in a variety of fields because of our flexibility in curriculum and our connection to other majors in the consortium. While I haven’t pursued the ICORE or MORE, I’ve chosen to take some classes included or similar to their requirements. I’ve also pursued other interests, such as French, making it clear that even though I’m majoring in American Studies, I’d still like to learn about creating global social difference, especially in thinking about European and U.S. imperialism. CCIS has given me an opportunity to take classes for both my majors, exploring and dismantling ideas of colonialism, gender, and sexuality along the way.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Consortium of Critical Interdisciplinary Studies, check out our event this Thursday, April 30th at 12pm EST. We’ll feature professors in the Consortium, including department heads in Africana Studies, American Studies, and Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies, in addition to a professor teaching one of the main required consortium courses, Practicing Intersectionality. Join us to get all your questions answered about this amazing resource!
-Maya Corral