Ethnic Studies Research Guide

The American Studies Association promotes the development and dissemination of interdisciplinary research on U.S. culture and history in a global context. Its purpose is to support scholars and scholarship committed to original research, critical thinking, and public dialogue. We are researchers, teachers, students, writers, curators, community organizers, and activists from around the world committed to the study and teaching of U.S. history and culture from multiple perspectives.

The National Council for Black Studies (NCBS) was established in 1975, when African American scholars came together to formalize the study of the African World experience, as well as expand and strengthen academic units and community programs devoted to this endeavor.
NCBS was formed out of the substantial need for a national stabilizing force in the developing discipline of Africana/Black Studies. The roots of NCBS run deep in the evolutionary growth of the discipline given that the organization was formed only seven years after the establishment of the first Black Studies Program in the United States. Today, the purpose of the NCBS is multidimensional and the scope of its functioning is quite broad. As an organization created and sustained primarily by students and their teachers, NCBS is committed to academic excellence and social responsibility.

The oldest ethnic studies association in the United States, the Association for Ethnic Studies (AES) was founded in 1972. A non-profit organization, AES provides an interdisciplinary forum for scholars and activists concerned with the national and international dimensions of race and ethnicity.
The Association welcomes scholars and teachers at all educational levels, students, libraries, civic and governmental organizations, and all persons interested in ethnicity, ethnic groups, intergroup relations, and the cultural life of ethnic minorities. As a non-profit corporation, AES provides a vehicle for interested members and donors to promote responsible scholarship and advocacy in the diverse fields of inquiry which constitute ethnic studies.

is the academic organization that serves academic programs, departments and research centers that focus on issues pertaining to Mexican Americans, Chicana/os, and Latina/os. The Association was formed in 1972, during the height of the Chicana/o movement, calling for the development of a space where scholarship and Chicana/o students could develop their talents in higher education. For more than 30 years, students, faculty, staff, and community members have attended the NACCS annual conference to present their scholarly papers--many of which have spun into important intellectual pillars.

Advancing the highest professional standards of research, teaching, and service in the field of Asian American Studies, AAAS is committed to sponsoring conferences, symposia, special projects, and publications. These activities engage the association’s priorities with regard to scholarship, mentorship, and pedagogy. Equally important is the degree to which the association’s various objectives reflect multiple communities and varied identities within the broader Asian American umbrella.

NAISA hosts an annual meeting that welcomes faculty and students in colleges, universities, and tribal colleges, community-based scholars and elders, and independent professionals working in the field. Our annual meetings have grown exponentially: from 350 attendees at the first gathering in 2007 to over 2000 attendees at the 2019 conference. We especially encourage Indigenous community-driven scholarship. NAISA is also responsible for the journal Native American & Indigenous Studies (NAIS), published by the University of Minnesota Press.

Incorporated in 2010, the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums is a non-profit organization that is building on the foundation of earlier efforts that began in 2002 with the first National Conference of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums held in Mesa, Arizona sponsored by the Arizona State Museum and the Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records.

The Center for Race & Gender (CRG) is an interdisciplinary research unit that centers knowledge production at the critical intersections of race, gender, and social justice.

The Joseph A. Myers Center was founded in 2010 with a mission is to provide the people of Indian country with pragmatic research products that can be employed to improve the quality of life for Native Americans throughout the US. The Center fulfills this mission by bringing the resources of the University to Native communities; developing, coordinating and funding collaborative, community-driven research projects; providing technical assistance and training; disseminating research publications and reports; and hosting conferences, colloquia and other events open to the public on topics of concern to Native communities.

Founded in 1963, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) promotes the interdisciplinary study of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) at the University of California, Berkeley, and beyond, raising public awareness of the region’s diverse peoples, languages, cultures and their connection to wider global contexts. CMES's more than 60 Senior Research Scholars cover a depth and breadth of disciplinary expertise, including but not limited to, anthropology, archaeology, Egyptology, Islamic studies, Jewish studies, political science, and sociology.

Launched in 2020, the Asian American Research Center at UC Berkeley is a preeminent research center for the study of Asian Americans/Asian diasporas in national, hemispheric, and global contexts. It brings together a vibrant, innovative, and dynamic assemblage of scholars, researchers, policy-makers, community organizers, and cultural producers to address a multiplicity of interests and concerns. The Center works to raise public awareness of Asian American/diaspora issues and advance cutting-edge research, develop innovative curricula, and promote community-campus engagement.

The Latinx Research Center is a faculty-led research center offering support and collaboration to campus and other researchers focused on U.S. Latinx and hemispheric communities. The “x” in our name signals our commitment to centering non-binary sexual and gender diversity. It also marks the unknown factors in the history, experience, conditions, contributions, and needs of California’s and the country’s diverse and rapidly growing Latinx populations that we investigate. We are an internationally recognized hub for Latinx-focused research and partner broadly across campus, the state, the U.S., and the globe