Centers, Institutes, and Other Programs
Besides our multidisciplinary departments and academic programs, the College of Arts and Letters also has many other unique programs. |
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Africana Center for Cultural Literacy and Research The Africana Center for Cultural Literacy and Research provides independent and collaborative projects (across a broad spectrum of academic disciplines) that create professional development opportunities with an Africana cultural focus for students, faculty and staff; research opportunities for students and faculty; and culturally enhanced teaching opportunities for SDSU faculty. The center’s programs also provide venues for community service which focus on Africana cultural groups. For more information regarding the Africana Center, contact Dr. Cornwell at 619-594-4131.
Center for Asian and Pacific Studies The Center for Asian and Pacific Studies brings together interested students, faculty, and community members, to promote teaching, research, and contemporary dialogues on the cultures and societies of Asia and the Pacific Rim and their relationships to North America. To explore East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Rim, and Asian American communities, the center draws on the academic resources of multiple departments and programs within and outside of the College of Arts and Letters, including: anthropology, art, Chinese, comparative literature, economics, geography, history, Japanese, linguistics, philosophy, political science, religious studies, sociology, and women’s studies. The center supports colloquia and symposia, curriculum development, student and faculty research, community research, international programs, and new college initiatives to educate students, community members, and working professionals about Asian and Pacific languages, cultures, politics, economies, histories, and societies. The center promotes faculty and student exchanges with Asian universities as well as study abroad programs in the Asia Pacific. The center houses the undergraduate major and minor in Asian studies, a minor in Chinese studies, as well as the graduate program.
The Bread and Roses Center for the promotion of creativity, scholarship, and community action in support of the women’s movement, is the first such center in the nation. The center brings activists, artists, and scholars committed to feminist social change to SDSU to network with colleagues and students on the campus and in the San Diego community, and to reflect upon and reorient their practices. Visiting residents of the center benefit from the opportunity for rejuvenation. The center also supports a strong international community of artists, students, scholars, and community activists working to achieve equality for women. The center hosts such activities as colloquia, festivals, readings, exhibitions, and special events. For those wishing to expand their knowledge of women’s movements, the center provides a forum for courses, guest lectures, and workshops. The center enhances two missions of SDSU: promoting internationalization of the curriculum and students’ learning experiences, and reaching out to, and positively interacting with, the larger San Diego community.
The Chinese Studies Institute coordinates and supports on-campus teaching and research related to the Chinese speaking world. The institute develops and fosters faculty and student exchange programs with universities and institutions of higher learning. Various cultural programs on the Chinese speaking world and activities on campus and in the community promote cultural awareness and understanding. The development of Chinese language publications, audiovisual materials, periodicals, newspapers, and other resources on campus fosters relationships between San Diego State University and the Chinese community, as well as nurtures friendship between the Chinese and American peoples.
The Collections Management Program preserves and curates prehistoric and historical archaeological, anthropological, and ethnological collections; encourages professional and student research with the collections; promotes the preservation of these resources in partnership with Native Americans and other ethnic groups; and advocates community involvement with the collections. It meets federal and state legislation regarding care of the collections, fosters an understanding of the value and importance of the collections, and provides advanced curation management and facilities for the care of over 600 collections and several hundred thousand artifacts.
The Confucius Institute (CI) at San Diego State University (SDSU) was established in collaboration with the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban), the executive body of the Chinese Language Council International, a non-governmental and non-profit organization affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. Housed in the College of Arts and Letters, the purposes of the CI of SDSU are to strengthen educational cooperation between China and the United States and to promote development of Chinese language education at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels as well as at the community colleges. The CI at SDSU focuses especially on teacher training by offering both on-site and online classes while utilizing the most advanced language teaching pedagogy and technology. The CI at SDSU has a partner institution in China – Xiamen University, a distinguished national research university. In conjunction with the Chinese program in the Department of Linguistics and Asian/Middle Eastern Languages, as well as other relevant academic units at SDSU, the institute supports and promotes the following activities: A teaching-training service center; Teach Chinese language and provide Chinese language teaching resources; Train Chinese language instructors; Hold Chinese proficiency tests and tests for the certification of Chinese language teachers; Provide information and consultative services concerning China’s education, culture, economy, and so forth; Conduct language, trade mission, and cultural exchange activities; Conduct other activities in collaboration with Hanban and Xiamen University. >>View the Confucius Institute brochure (.pdf) | >>View the YouTube Video
Institute of Druze Studies (IDS) The Institute of Druze Studies (IDS) is an academic non-profit organization dedicated to research and discourse on the Druzes and related topics. The Druzes are a Middle Eastern minority group that live predominantly in the mountainous regions of today’s Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and with smaller numbers elsewhere around the world. More than 25,000 Druzes live in the United States with California as the main center of the American Druze Society (ADS). The Druze sect began in Cairo and has survived for almost one thousand years. The IDS aims to 1) provide information on Druze history, society, and faith; 2) encourage research and studies on historical and contemporary Druze communities; and 3) promote academic discourse about other immigrant religious communities. The IDS pursues these objectives through an international multidisciplinary conference, an academic journal, and a newsletter. The IDS participates in professional conferences and provides guest lectures to interested organizations.
Center for Earth Systems Analysis Research Lab (CESAR) The Stephen and Mary Birch Foundation Center for Earth Systems Analysis Research (CESAR) was founded in 1986 as a computer-based facility for geographic information science research and instruction that is administered by the Department of Geography. The purpose of the center is to apply state-of-the-art, geo-spatial technology in geographic information systems (GIS), global positioning systems (GPS), remote sensing, image processing, automated cartography, spatial statistics, and spatial modeling to problems with geographic dimensions. As such, a number of Geography Department faculty are affiliated with the center. Research conducted by CESAR is directed at both applied and fundamental problems in fields ranging from urban and regional planning to earth system science. This research includes computerbased map and image data processing and spatial simulation modeling, as well as field-based data collection. CESAR has extensive hardware, software, imaging systems, and field equipment resources in its four laboratories: (1) Richard Wright Spatial Analysis Laboratory, (2) Regional Analysis Laboratory (REGAL), (3) William Finch Remote Sensing Laboratory, and (4) Stephen and Mary Birch Foundation GIS Laboratory.
Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs The Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs at San Diego State University seeks to promote critical thinking about moral issues that are often complex in nature. It aims both to be a resource to members of the campus community, the larger community of scholars, and the greater San Diego community who wish to pursue thoughtful discussion and research as a means of clarifying moral problems. It also aims to raise the profile of the moral dimensions of contemporary issues. The institute is housed in the Department of Philosophy, but seeks interdisciplinary discussion and collaboration since clarity on contemporary moral problems often involves both the application of normative theorizing and empirical investigation. The institute organizes and sponsors a variety of programs on applied and theoretical moral issues. Among these programs are colloquia, community outreach talks, lectures, and student essay contests.
The Center for European Studies, through its associated faculty and students, is committed to the multidisciplinary study of Europe and its dynamic and evolving calculus of nations, cultures, languages, and perspectives. The center is a vehicle for fostering appreciation of Europe, the societies and cultures within its geographical boundaries, and the ideas that make up various European realities. The center will develop grant funded programs (e.g. colloquia, symposia, etc.), collaborative teaching and research opportunities, faculty exchanges, internship leads for partner programs, workshops, and related activities.
Center for Health Equity Research and Policy (CHERP) The Center for Health Equity Research and Policy (CHERP) is housed in the Department of Sociology and brings together students, faculty, and community members to promote research and policy dissemination with respect to population health and health disparities towards the end of fostering health equity for disadvantaged populations. The center brings together faculty from several SDSU colleges, including: the College of Arts and Letters, the College of Health and Human Services, and the College of Sciences. The purpose of CHERP is to generate cutting-edge research that both describes and explains the existence of health disparities in racial/ ethnic minority and socio-economically disadvantaged populations. Further, relying on community collaborations, we seek to translate our research into practicable health alternatives using evidenced-based strategies. The ultimate goal of CHERP is to contribute to the understanding and elimination of health disparities that are the direct result of social inequalities which disproportionately affect disadvantaged and marginalized sub-populations across the United States, with a concerted and focused effort in the San Diego region. The center promotes the following activities and infrastructure: A collaborative consortium of scholars and community members; An accessible database of relevant health surveys and data linkages; A collection of relevant statistical methodologies and their applications; A working paper series reflecting preliminary research results and findings; A periodic seminar series—pen to the campus and local community; Links to published research findings; Translation and dissemination of research findings to the local and national media; A health equity community action board.
Charles Hostler Institute on World Affairs The Charles Hostler Institute on World Affairs, founded in 1942, is beginning its 65th year at San Diego State University. It is the second oldest organization of its kind west of the Mississippi River. Its purpose is to make available to the SDSU community, and to the people of Southern California, a forum for the discussion of critical topics in international affairs. This purpose is accomplished primarily by inviting distinguished authorities to address the institute on issues of contemporary international import. The institute has hosted ambassadors to the U.S. from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Jordan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, and Yemen. Distinguished speakers have included Nobel Laureates Willard Libby, Linus Pauling, and Harold Urey, as well as Professors Hans Morgenthau and Robert Scalapino, British Ambassador to the United Nations Lord Caradon, American statesman Ralph Bunche, California Governor Pat Brown, French diplomat and author Romain Gary, Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg, Russian Premier Alexander Kerensky, and USAF Chief of Staff and SDSU graduate General Merril McPeak. American politicians, military and government officials, diplomatic and governmental representatives from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East have also participated in institute sessions over the last 60 years. For more than half a century, the institute has functioned according to the motto – AUDIATUR ET ALTER A PARS (Let The Other Side Be Heard). Given today’s pressing problems of international affairs and the obligation of an excellent university to help inform students, faculty, and the wider community regarding these problems, the Charles Hostler Institute on World Affairs plays a critical role in the educational mission of SDSU.
International Population Center (InterPop) The International Population Center (InterPop) promotes applied demographic research and the provision of technical assistance and consulting, especially focusing on population issues and policy within the San Diego/Tijuana region, the U.S.-Mexico border, Africa, and the Middle East. Although it is located in the Department of Geography, InterPop is a multidisciplinary facility, linking center faculty from several departments on campus with center associates from other organizations and universities in the San Diego region.
International Studies Education Project (ISTEP) The International Studies Education Project (ISTEP) supports the twin SDSU priorities of community outreach and internationalization through the promotion of international studies education in our schools and community. Programs designed to improve teaching and learning at the pre-collegiate level are emphasized, with particular foci on the social sciences and humanities as they relate to international, cross-cultural and citizenship education within both the domestic American and wider global context. ISTEP programs are multidisciplinary and collaborative in nature, involving partnerships with other SDSU academic departments, centers and institutes, as well as with other educational institutions and community groups. Programs include in-service teacher training and professional development workshops and institutes, curriculum development, student-focused programs, and partnerships with schools and districts. The ISTEP Instructional Resource Center is a “demonstration” collection of K-16 instructional materials in global issues, world areas and cultures, and cross-cultural education available to SDSU students and educators throughout San Diego County. Project activities and resources are publicized through the ISTEP newsletter, Global Vistas.
Center for Islamic and Arabic Studies (CIAS) The Center for Islamic and Arabic Studies administers the minor in Islamic and Arabic Studies, and the major in Social Science: Emphasis on Islamic and Arabic Studies. It is committed to supporting teaching and research on the lives of Muslim and Arabic-speaking peoples past and present. The center's study of the Islamic world focuses on the global context in which Islam emerged historically, the cultures and societies that it helped shape, most especially in Eurasia and Africa, and the current global condition in which people in the Islamic world situate themselves today. It sees the Arabic language as the cultural medium for diverse ways of life that are of world historical significance. The center is multi-disciplinary and includes in its scope of study the Arabic and Persian languages and literatures; the history of Muslim and Arabic-speaking peoples; political, economic, and social dynamics of contemporary societies; art and architecture; social, political, religious, and philosophic thought; and the experience of Muslim communities in the United States and around the world.
Center for Latin American Studies The Center for Latin American Studies supports teaching and research related to Latin America. It has primary responsibility for the administration of the Latin American studies undergraduate and graduate degrees. It also participates in joint degree programs in international business, business administration, and public health. Since 1976, the Center for Latin American Studies has been designated a National Resource Center for Latin American Studies by the United States Department of Education and funded through a Title VI grant, in consortium with the Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies at the University of California, San Diego. CLAS, along with CIBER and LARC, is one of three Title VI funded centers on the San Diego State University campus. In conjunction with this award, the center administers programs that are interdisciplinary, drawing on the expertise of an outstanding Latin Americanist faculty from the following departments and schools: Anthropology; Art, Design, and Art History; English and Comparative Literature; Economics; Geography; History; Political Science; Public Affairs; Public Health; Social Work; Sociology; Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Literatures; Women’s Studies; and the College of Business Administration. In addition, the center is involved with the development of innovative methods of instruction in Spanish, Portuguese, and Mixtec; the provision of information and in-service training programs for elementary and secondary school teachers; and the provision of services for the general public through the sponsorship of conferences, workshops, lectures, and films. The center also assists in the development of the university library’s Latin American holdings. The center has cooperative agreements for research, faculty, and student exchanges with several Latin American universities, particularly in Mexico, Chile, and Costa Rica.
The Lipinsky Institute supports the advancement for community outreach and the annual visiting Israeli professorship.
National Center for the Study of Children's Literature (NCSCL) Situated in the Department of English and Comparative Literature, the National Center for the Study of Children’s Literature (NCSCL) reflects SDSU’s long-term and extended commitment to the literary study of children’s and adolescent literature. The largest in North America and one of the oldest, SDSU’s children’s literature program employs more than a dozen faculty (many with international reputations in the field) and garners more than 1100 student enrollments every year in its undergraduate classes and the M.A. Specialization in Children’s Literature. As a research center, the NCSCL hosts visiting scholars, sponsors annual lectures and festivals, and provides faculty with the wherewithal to engage in scholarship in a collegial environment. In terms of community outreach, NCSCL faculty conduct summer workshops and professional development seminars for K-12 teachers and university faculty offering classes in children’s literature; they also discuss books for the young in various media outlets and speak to public and professional groups. Finally, faculty from NCSCL review and evaluate contemporary children’s books on the largest Web site of its kind in the country.
National Language Center/Language Acquisition Resource Center (LARC) SDSU created the Language Acquisition Resource Center (LARC) in 1989 to improve the capacity of the university to teach foreign languages more effectively. In 1990, LARC at SDSU became one of the first three national Language Resource Centers (LARC's), with funding from the U.S. Department of Education. LARC’s authorized activities are to conduct research in second language acquisition, to develop new means of assessing language proficiency, to train foreign language teachers, to enhance cross-cultural competence, to develop high levels of language competence, particularly in critical less commonly-taught languages, and to explore advanced technologies to enhance language learning experiences. Currently the U.S. Department of Education funds 14 campus-based national centers. SDSU’s center has one of the nation’s finest multimedia collections and language laboratory facilities, with digitizing and desktop video conferencing capabilities, a research library, smart classrooms, and faculty offices. The laboratories also serve foreign language students in several departments (European Studies, Linguistics and Asian/Middle Eastern Languages, and Spanish and Portuguese). LARC has enhanced its infrastructure and internet capabilities in order to explore and develop models of distributed and distance learning. These models reflect the changing demographics of SDSU students and require new curricula to reflect student learning preferences. Our digital media archive houses learning objects, authentic materials, lesson plans, and courses and allows for online contributions from national and international collaborators. LARC hosts a companion initiative, the Advancement of Distinguished Language Proficiency, whose major purpose is to create opportunities for learners of Arabic, Persian, Spanish, Chinese, and other important world languages to reach advanced, superior, and distinguished levels of proficiency through on-site intensive courses, follow-up online learning experiences, and study abroad. Another major emphasis of LARC faculty is to facilitate the learning of less commonly taught languages of Latin America, in collaboration with the Center for Latin American Studies and other national resource centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education. To evaluate students’ progress through levels, we are developing online diagnostic assessment tools.
Center for Qualitative Research The Center for Qualitative Research, located within the Department of Sociology at San Diego State University, promotes the use of qualitative methods in the quest to understand and explain important aspects of social organization. Over 20 departments and programs from across the seven colleges of SDSU are represented in the center’s core group of participants. Qualitative researchers utilize a wide range of methods to gather data including participant observation, in-depth interviews, content analysis, focus groups, photography, film, and videography to accomplish a holistic study of social meanings, social relations, and social institutions. The primary objectives of the center are to: Create and sustain an interdisciplinary community of scholars whose principal research focus is qualitative rather than quantitative; Organize and facilitate workshops and colloquia focusing on the key issues facing qualitative researchers such as methodological, epistemological, and ethical issues; Provide a forum for the dissemination of the products of qualitative research across all disciplines. In particular, the center sponsors several colloquia each academic year where faculty and students can showcase their work to an appreciative audience. In addition, the center archives and publicly displays samples of ethnographic work; Furnish a connection between the intellectual community of San Diego State University and surrounding communities by promoting locally relevant research.
Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias (IRSC) The Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias (IRSC) provides San Diego State University with a forum for the investigation, discussion, and dissemination of information about the United States- Mexican border region. Although the institute focuses on the border region of California, Baja California, the United States, and Mexico, it is also concerned with important issues of border regions elsewhere in the world. Created in 1983, the institute has undertaken multidisciplinary applied research projects on important regional concerns including transborder environmental issues, policy perspectives of the California- Mexico relationship, quality of life, and sustainable development. IRSC also plays an active role in Mexico-related professional organizations and is frequently consulted on transborder issues by the media, nongovernmental organizations, the public sector, and other border stakeholders. Other institute activities include conducting binational symposia; improving communication between public and private sector representatives on both sides of the border; serving as a clearinghouse for information on transborder events, issues, and institutions; and encouraging the effective use of educational resources among the region’s universities. The institute serves as a major link between SDSU and Mexican universities and institutions. IRSC has an ongoing publications program that includes books, monographs, and shorter items. Many titles are co-published with SDSU Press. IRSC conducts applied research projects on border environmental issues and policy, regional economic issues, and transborder planning issues. The institute serves as the SDSU link to the Southwest Consortium for Environmental Research and Policy, a congressionally established consortium of Mexican and U.S. universities for research and policy studies on border environmental issues.
Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of Youth and Space (ISYS) ISYS is an interdisciplinary collective of academic and community interests. The mission of the center is to support research on children, families, and space. It includes not only international scholarship and global perspectives on young people and families, but also local community research initiatives in San Diego and Tijuana. The geographical contexts within which young people live structure individual lives and provide connections to social and political formations. It is important to get beyond the problematization of “children,” “families,” and “communities” as categories so that we may find ways to account for unique process of identity formation and the relationships through which young people construct their lived spaces. Consequently, ISYS supports research that is intent on raising new questions concerning the interdependence of children, caregivers, their communities and social and spatial structures. The center focuses on local and international research, workshops, and conferences as funding allows. It is connected to international child research centers elsewhere including a faculty and graduate student exchange program with the Norway’s National Technological University (NTNU) in Trondheim and its National Center for Childhood Research (NOSEB). ISYS sponsors the international Routledge journal, Children’s Geographies: Advancing interdisciplinary understanding of younger people's lives. In addition to this international, global focus, ISYS supports research in San Diego and Tijuana that relates to children, families and communities.
Founded in the late 1950s, San Diego State University Press is the oldest university press in the California State University system. Today it is guided by an editorial board made up of six scholars within SDSU's College of Arts and Letters and eight scholars from other universities. San Diego State University Press's various publication programs and imprints include book series such as, Sur Text: U. S.-Mexico Border / Southwest History, Baja California Literature in Translation, and Binational Press/Editorial binacional and journals such as, Poetry International and Pacific Review .
Social Science Research Lab (SSRL) Established in 1974, the Social Science Research Laboratory (SSRL) is a full-service survey research center located on the campus of San Diego State University. SSRL was founded to support social research at San Diego State University and in the San Diego community. SSRL provides a full spectrum of survey research and program evaluation services to university faculty and administrators, as well as to local government, non-profit organizations, and the private sector. SSRL is capable of conducting telephone, web, mail, and multi-mode surveys. SSRL has 36 CATI stations and currently uses Sawtooth’s WinCati for telephone data collection, Vovici for online data collection, and SPSS for data processing and analysis. SSRL also provides graduate-level training in survey research methodology and practices through its Internship in Applied Survey Research and Program Evaluation. The goal of the internship is to provide eligible graduate students with field experience in survey research and program evaluation and an opportunity to apply the information and skills learned in their graduate program curriculum in a real-world social research setting
South Coastal Information Center (SCIC)
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