The Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies Collaborative (CRGC) is a vibrant and inclusive community of faculty and students that explores diverse voices, histories, and experiences through socially engaged scholarship.

The collaborative houses six interdisciplinary programs that offer bachelor's degrees, minors, and certificates:

African American and African Diaspora Studies

(major, minor)

American Studies

(major, minor)

Arab World Studies

(major, minor, undergraduate certificate)

Asian Studies

(major, minor, undergraduate certificate, graduate certificate)

Multi-Ethnic Studies

(minor, undergraduate certificate)

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

(major, minor, undergraduate certificates, graduate certificate)

Our courses discuss race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, culture, religion, and more from a critical perspective. We encourage our students to research complex problems and explore interdisciplinary interests.

Collaborative faculty members are distinguished teachers and researchers from a number of departments in the College of Arts and Sciences, and from other schools at the university. Our professors work closely with DC community leaders and institutions to bring real-world learning experiences into the classroom. Many of our students complement coursework with internship and employment opportunities in DC's political, social, and cultural institutions, and some students study abroad to gain an international perspective on their areas of interest.

Our flexible curriculum teaches students to become critical thinkers, innovative researchers, and skilled communicators. Our alumni enter the workforce with a social awareness that serves them well in the increasingly diversified workplaces of our globalized economy. In gaining a deeper understanding of their world and themselves, our students are prepared for a wide range of careers in communications, education, the arts, the non-profit sector, and government and public policy agencies.

Events at AU

November 13 

Dr. Haneen al-Ghabra, “Muslim Women and White Femininity: Reenactment and Resistance”

Ghabra will discuss Muslim women’s performances and embodiment of White femininity. She specifically focuses on how Whiteness travels globally through Muslim bodies and subjects who speak the language of the imperialist and not the vernacular. This language of the imperialist is also the language of heteronormativity, class, and educational privilege. These intersections are not stand-alone categories but instead seep into one another in the service of Whiteness. She performs an archetypal criticism, a method that examines controlling archetypes emerging from the Western Media: The Oppressed, The Advocate, and the Humanitarian Leader. Through an intersectional feminist ethic she concludes by offering further directions for understanding and naming moments when marginalized persons embody privileged identities. 

Tuesday November 13th, 4 - 5:30 pm MGC 200 Gianni Lounge

November 28

Activism and the Aids Crisis: Remembering the Significance of OUT!

A Panel featuring Hannah Byrne (MA Public History), Tanja Aho (Am Studies) and Amelie Zurn, (former member of OUT!)

OUT! (Oppression Under Target) was a group of DC lesbians, bisexuals, and gay men who engaged in nonviolent direct action and street theater to demand justice for AIDS patients, and advocate for safe sex and LGBTQ rights. Come hear the story of this organization and learn about the significance of gay activism from one of OUT!'s founders, Amelie Zurn. AMST Professor Tanja Aho and AU Grad Student Hannah Byrne join the panel.

Wednesday November 28th, 12:30 - 2:00 pm Battelle-Tompkins Atrium