150 Parkmill (PKM)
503-725-3472
www.pdx.edu/blackstudies
- B.A., B.S. in Black Studies
- Minor in Black Studies
- Certificate in African Studies
- Certificate in Black Studies
The Department of Black Studies is an academic interdisciplinary unit within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. It is one of four intersectional units in the School of Gender, Race, and Nations. The Department of Black Studies is devoted to the exploration and analysis of all aspects of African people and people of African descent in the United States, the Caribbean/Latin America, and Europe. It seeks to research and teach about the Black experience through the interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary contributions of its faculty by providing comprehensive learning programs aimed at greater understanding of the historical and contemporary experiences of people in Africa and African descended people across the Americas, the Caribbean, Oceania, Asia, and Europe.
The Department of Black Studies provides students who opt for the Black Studies major, minor, certificate, or as an addition to majors such as Anthropology, English, Sociology, Community Studies, History, etc., a variety of course offerings. These courses serve to expand students’ breadth of knowledge in related courses offered by the department or as a complement to those in other departments. Students gain an understanding of the complex relationships across and between race/racism, gender/sexism, sexuality/homophobia, class differences and inequalities. The Department of Black Studies incorporates in its understandings and analysis of Black Life cultural themes such as music, literature, and film; institutions like the family, religion, housing, employment, criminal injustice system and health care; and the more general realms of culture and political economy into its curriculum and its courses.
The program provides students with a general historical background of the Black experience in Africa and the Western hemisphere, as well as locally. Students also examine contemporary inter- and intra-racial/ethnic dynamics and are encouraged to engage in study and/or civic engagement courses to support their interests in global and community studies. The Department of Black Studies prepares students to work with African, Black or African American communities and to apply for graduate studies in a variety of disciplinary and professional programs. It will also give students a crucial competitive advantage in obtaining careers in those areas and within communities that interact with African, African American, Afro-Asiatic, Afro-Oceanic, and Caribbean/Latin American cultures.
Students interested in any of the degree programs offered in the Department of Black Studies are strongly encouraged to enroll in BST 202: Introduction to Black Studies or any other 200-level course. Students should meet with the undergraduate advisor for assistance with course selection based on their interests. For students who plan to apply to graduate school, it is important that they meet with one of their professors, the undergraduate advisor, or the department chair during their junior year, in order to discuss options for courses to enhance their research skills, such as the practicum, reading and conference, or other experiential learning courses.
Black Studies Certificate
The four-course Certificate Program offers students the opportunity to build a unique curriculum, drawing from courses in Black Studies. Students can choose to focus on in-depth study of one area, or take a breadth of courses that explore the historical and contemporary experiences of people from Africa and African-descended people in the United States, the Caribbean, the Americas, and the world.
Requirements
Candidates must complete four courses (16 credits) in Black Studies (BSt). Students are required to take
two courses from our Diaspora list, while the other two classes can be
any Black Studies course. Any level of BSt courses is acceptable and courses may be taken as pass/no pass.
Diaspora List
| BSt 199 | Special Studies | 1-12 |
| BSt 202 | Introduction to Black Studies | 4 |
| BSt 203 | African American History I - Slavery to the Harlem Renaissance | 4 |
| BSt 204 | African American History II - From the Depression Era to Civil Rights | 4 |
| BSt 206 | Caribbean Studies | 4 |
| BSt 207 | Race, Class, and Gender | 4 |
| BSt 214 | Contemporary Race and Ethnic Relations | 4 |
| BSt 221 | Introduction to African American Literature | 4 |
| BSt 261 | The African American Economic Experience | 4 |
| BSt 299 | Special Studies | 1-4 |
| BSt 302U | The Contemporary African American Experience | 4 |
| BSt 304 | The Civil Rights Movement | 4 |
| BSt 316 | Issues in African American Education | 4 |
| BSt 318U/CFS 318U | Black Families in the U.S. | 4 |
| BSt 325U | Race and Ethnicity in Latin America | 4 |
| BSt 326U | Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico | 4 |
| BSt 335U | The Multi-Racial Experience | 4 |
| BSt 339U | Afro-Futurisms/Black Science Fiction | 4 |
| BSt 342U | Black Feminism/Womanism | 4 |
| BSt 345U | Black Popular Music: Contextualizing the Black Experience | 4 |
| BSt 351U/Eng 351U | African American Literature I | 4 |
| BSt 352U/Eng 352U | African American Literature II | 4 |
| BSt 356U | Cuban Film: Politics and Culture | 4 |
| BSt 357U | Caribbean Spirituality and Resistance | 4 |
| BSt 359U | The African Diaspora in Europe | 4 |
| BSt 377U | Vodoun, Rasta and Islam in the African Diaspora | 4 |
| BSt 378 | Philosophy of Race | 4 |
| BSt 396 | Research Methodologies in Black Studies | 4 |
| BSt 399 | Special Studies | 1-5 |
| BSt 407 | Seminar | 1-12 |
| BSt 410 | Selected Topics | 1-12 |
| BSt 411 | African American History Seminar | 4 |
| BSt 412 | Oregon African American History | 4 |
| BSt 413 | Slavery | 4 |
| BSt 414 | Racism | 4 |
| BSt 415 | Race, Justice, and Punishment | 4 |
| BSt 419 | African American Women in America | 4 |
| BSt 420 | Caribbean Literature | 4 |
| BSt 421 | African American Writers | 4 |
| BSt 425 | Black Cinema: the 1970s | 4 |
| BSt 426 | Contemporary African American Cinema | 4 |
| BSt 430 | Black Political Thought | 4 |
| BSt 440 | Caribbean Studies | 4 |
| BSt 444 | Food Justice | 4 |
| BSt 450 | Topics in African/Caribbean History And Culture | 4 |
| BSt 466 | History of the Black Panther Party | 4 |
| BSt 484 | African American Community Development | 4 |
| BSt 489 | Afro-Latin@ Narratives | 4 |