A L S O_ T O D A Y Comics Tom Tomorrow: America's exciting new Vegas EconomicsTM! T A B L E_ T A L K Grade inflation: Are Universities pumping up GPA's to boost their ranking? Theorize in the Education area of Table Talk R E C E N T L Y Recess A one-stop playground for weekend frivolity and fun (09/25/98) Recommendation wars By Tyler Thoreson While students increasingly sue professors for less-than-gushing letters of recommendation, professors are subtly crafting their criticism in calculated ambiguities (09/24/98) Confessions of Harper's serf By Marc Herman The secrets learned from a Harper's internship (09/23/98) From screaming babies to screaming college students By Camille Paglia "The Nurture Assumption": A rambling, anecdotal memoir (09/23/98) Ufology By Christina Valhouli Aliens invade the ivory tower (09/22/98) BROWSE THE IVORY TOWER ARCHIVE

AS AMERICAN AS ETHNIC STUDIES | PAGE 1, 2 - - - - - - - - - - A merger between ethnic studies and American studies "will make Berkeley's American studies department instantly the largest, the most diverse and hopefully the best, in terms of faculty and curriculum, in the United States," says Wang. But American studies proponents have been remarkably cool to Wang's idea. The proposal to merge ethnic studies with American studies is a little like the United States proposing to "merge" with Haiti -- some fear that with 18 full-time faculty positions and a 29-year history, ethnic studies could overwhelm the fledgling program. Outgoing American studies program director Kathy Moran was reluctant to discuss Wang's proposal, saying only, "We don't want a fight about this. We're looking for ways to accommodate one another. But we're a tiny group major, and they're a department. People don't want to be taken over." The new head of the American studies program, Donald McQuade, declined to comment on the proposal, as did the dean of interdisciplinary studies, Carolyn Porter. "It's enormously contentious," was all Porter would say. But Pedro Noguera, an education department professor who also teaches American studies and ethnic studies courses, supports Wang's proposal. "To continue to position ethnic studies at the margins of the university is a mistake," he says. "And I think American studies has some responsibility to ethnic studies, which provides a lot of courses that American studies majors take. You could say ethnic studies is doing the teaching, while American studies is getting the majors. I think they have to care about the health of ethnic studies." But the emphasis on getting approval from American studies professors may be premature. Wang does not yet have full support from his own department, or from African-American studies, which is technically independent of ethnic studies but would join American studies in the new proposal. Percy Hintzen, chair of African-American studies, supports Wang's proposal, but he notes that many of his faculty colleagues have reservations. "I think the proposal recognizes that the question of difference is central to the study of America," Hintzen says. "But to tell African-Americans, who have had the role as spokespersons for the study of difference, and who have been the premier department in ethnic studies, that they must give up this role and integrate, well, you can imagine the concern." Indeed, Barbara Christian, a respected figure in African-American studies nationally, expresses skepticism about the proposal. "I laud the idea of redefining America, and American studies, but I think there needs to be a lot more discussion. The symbolism of not having an ethnic studies department, or an African-American studies department, could be really profound. And would we really have the autonomy to do the work we want?" Ethnic studies students are concerned as well. "There's not necessarily opposition, but there are a lot of questions," says Caroline Streeter, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in ethnic studies at Berkeley, in the nation's only Ph.D. program in ethnic studies. "We've suffered a lot of political losses, with the passage of Proposition 209 [repealing affirmative action in California] and the declining number of black and Latino students here," Streeter says. "That makes it problematic to give up our profile and our autonomy." Streeter also describes ethnic studies as a "haven" for students and faculty of color in a university that still suffers from "institutional racism." But Noguera thinks the "haven" defense isn't a strong one if the goal is to change the way issues of American identity, culture and race are taught university-wide. "You can't argue against exclusion and then lament what comes of inclusion. We've succeeded in getting departments to deal with race and ethnicity in a way they never did before. What would it say about the role of ethnic minorities in America to continue to insist that ethnic studies be separate from American studies? The symbolism is very disturbing." Graduate students have asked to be included in future discussions about Wang's proposal. Wang welcomes the debate. "I'm moving very slowly. I think there needs to be a lot of participation and discussion. I feel the burden of 30 years of ethnic studies on my shoulders. "But I don't want to preside over the death of ethnic studies, and I truly believe without a serious change, ethnic studies will die within the decade." SALON | Sept. 28, 1998 Joan Walsh is a reporter for Pacific News Service and will be joining Salon as news editor in October.