Students lose out when ethnic studies classes are banned, Chapman professor says

Arizona’s new law banning ethnic studies classes from public schools takes effect this month, but not without criticism, including from Paul Apodaca, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Sociology, Wilkinson College. Such laws close a door on a world of knowledge, Dr. Apodaca says in Trading Posts, a blog published by the Autry National Center in Los Angeles.

“It’s a whole library full of new ideas that are not in the classic disciplines,” Dr. Apodaca says. “Can we afford not to have access to that knowledge?”

Dr. Apodaca is the lecturer-in-residence for the Autry’s American Indian Lecture Series. His next lecture there, “American Indian Technology,” is scheduled at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15. In his talk he’ll discuss technological developments of American Indians across two continents as well as how American Indian resources influenced science and industry.