Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

This course will examine the history of Black Studies as a discipline including its origin as the academic arm of the Civil Rights Movement.  By exploring the history of the course and the discipline, the course will examine (but not be grounded in) some of the ideologies that have driven the history of Black Studies.

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

1. Examine the African American experience as part of the larger context of the African Diaspora.
2. Analyze intersections of economics, history, culture, literature, region, politics, religion, gender, and sexuality in relation to the African Diaspora.
3. Identify the major practitioners and influences of Black Studies as a discipline.
4. Articulate the history of Black Studies as a discipline and its roots in activism and the community.

To engage in critical self-reflection regarding students' personal relationships to Black Studies and the African Diaspora.

To investigate the institutional and cultural forces that affect Black Studies.

To prepare students to function effectively in a racially and culturally diverse community, and to contribute to a campus culture that respects and values diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Students read, discuss, write and perform research on related topics and events presented in the literature. Class activities may include instructor lecture, whole class discussion, small group work, student presentations and guest lectures.

Students will complete a term project, typically a research paper of 1500-2000 words in length, pertinent to scholarship of the field.  Instructors may also permit alternatives to the traditional research paper.  Such alternatives include the following possibilities:  PowerPoint presentations, multimedia presentations, and community service reports .  Instructors who permit such alternatives will ensure that students also write substantive analytical pieces in the form of journal, examination, or other appropriate format.  Students should be strongly encouraged to engage in critical self reflection during the course through that can be assessed through activities such as papers, journals, etc. Additionally, instructors may use a variety of other assessment tools such as quizzes, participation, etc.

From Black Studies to Africana Studies

Black People or Black Studies?

Representations of Blackness

Slavery and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Pan-Africanism

Black Internationalism

Womanism and Black Feminism

Racism, Anti-Colonialism, and Resistance

Civil Rights and Black Power

Contemporary Debates in 21st Century Black Identity