The UCSB Sociology Department has been broadening the breadth and depth of the study of race, ethnicity, and nation (REN) for some time. Building on distinctive departmental and campus strengths, we have developed four features of our program that differentiate it from other leading departments with specializations in this sociological subfield. First, and uniquely among major US sociology departments, faculty in the REN area employ a wide range of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches to study US racial/ethnic groups from a comparative and historical perspective. Second, we combine long-standing structural understandings of race, ethnicity, and nation with newer approaches focusing on culture, identity, and interaction. Third, our work emphasizes the intersection of race/ethnicity/nation with gender, class, and sexuality, enlarging the single-axis orientation of more traditional sociological approaches. Fourth, we stress the particular importance of interdisciplinary scholarship for the study of the issues of REN, emphasizing the contributions made both by mainstream social science and humanities disciplines, and also drawing upon ethnic studies, women's studies, area studies, etc. greatly to expand the disciplinary boundaries of what was formerly a mere disciplinary subfield. UCSB Sociology has recently harnesses its considerable strength in the REN area (and other related areas) to develop an ongoing research/teaching emphasis on Chicano/a-Latino/a identities and communities.