2024-2025 Catalog

Black Studies

Overview

Black Studies at Occidental College provides a transnational and transdisciplinary perspective on the history, scholarship, arts and culture of the African diaspora. Students of Black Studies learn to examine the world and their local communities with an eye to Black people's important and sometimes overlooked contributions, and to understand the ways the experiences of people of African descent have shaped and continue to inform campaigns for justice and human rights.

Emphasizing the enduring traditions of scholarship, activism, and community throughout the African diaspora, the program of study encourages students to examine the ways that class, geographic location, gender and sexuality have shaped Black identities, cultural productions and forms of political engagement across the diaspora in both the past and present, and understand how such considerations are critical for future possibilities.

Students who major in Black Studies will:

  • Learn about the history and contemporary cultures of people of African descent across the diaspora, including the development of foundational ideas and documents for our contemporary understanding of social justice and human rights;

  • Engage in transdisciplinary and intersectional analysis of Black communities in the U.S. and abroad, both past and present;

  • Contribute to longstanding discussions about the enduring effects of slavery and colonization, the place of race in conceptions of citizenship and justice, the centrality of people of African descent to major developments (social, artistic, political and scientific) throughout the world;

  • Experience Black communities outside the United States through study abroad;

  • Have the opportunity to get involved in the local community through community-based partnerships in Los Angeles and surrounding communities;

  • Graduate prepared for careers in law, medicine, education, entertainment, international business, and several others that involve communicating with and understanding people across differences and within specific communities.

Requirements

Major

Core Courses

BLST 101Introduction to Black Studies

4 units

BLST 490Black Studies Senior Seminar

4 units

Interdisciplinary Electives

There are three Interdisciplinary clusters: historical perspectives, expressive forms, and politics and theory. Students are expected to complete three courses (12 units) across these interdisciplinary clusters, with a minimum of one course (4 units) in each of the three interdisciplinary clusters.

Historical Perspectives

HIST 207/BLST 207African American History I: Black Americans and the Making of the Nation

4 units

BLST 208/AMST 208African American History II: The Great Migration and the Transformation of American Culture

4 units

BLST 256/AMST 256Race Women: African American Women's Protest Culture

4 units

BLST 268/AMST 268Style Politics: Beauty and Fashion in Black Women's History

4 units

BLST 376/AMST 376Slavery, Freedom, and American Memory

4 units

Expressive Forms

BLST 230Black Britain

4 units

BLST 240Black Women Write Social Justice

4 units

BLST 268/AMST 268Style Politics: Beauty and Fashion in Black Women's History

4 units

BLST 319Toni Morrison

4 units

BLST 329/AMST 329Black Queer Thought

4 units

BLST 346/ENGL 346Beautiful Democracy: 19th Century African American Literature

4 units

BLST 360/ENGL 360Toni Morrison and U.S. Imaginative Production

4 units

ENGL 142/BLST 142Joyful Noise! On Black Literature and Musicality

4 units

ENGL 267Afro-Surrealism

4 units

ENGL 377/BLST 377Afrofuturism

4 units

Politics and Theory

BLST 218/SOC 218Black Ecological Thought

4 units

BLST 230Black Britain

4 units

BLST 240Black Women Write Social Justice

4 units

BLST 263/SOC 263Du Boisian Social Theory and Analysis

4 units

BLST 315Black Feminist Movements

4 units

BLST 318Waywardness, Fugitivity, and the Anarchism of Blackness

4 units

BLST 329/AMST 329Black Queer Thought

4 units

BLST 343Black Ecology Collaboratory

4 units

Black Studies Seminars

Students are expected to complete two 300 level Black Studies seminars (4 units) from the following list of courses. The completion of one of these research seminars will satisfy the second-stage writing requirement.

BLST 315Black Feminist Movements

4 units

BLST 318Waywardness, Fugitivity, and the Anarchism of Blackness

4 units

BLST 360/ENGL 360Toni Morrison and U.S. Imaginative Production

4 units

BLST 343Black Ecology Collaboratory

4 units

BLST 346/ENGL 346Beautiful Democracy: 19th Century African American Literature

4 units

BLST 376/AMST 376Slavery, Freedom, and American Memory

4 units

BLST 377/ENGL 377Afrofuturism

4 units

Additional Electives

Students must take three additional electives chosen from the list of approved outside electives below, or any of the Black Studies interdisciplinary clusters.

CTSJ 280Rastafari

4 units

CTSJ 295Topics in Critical Theory and Social Justice

4 units

DWA 335Junior Seminar: Theories of Revolution from Africa and the African Diaspora

4 units

EDUC 215Educating African America

4 units

EDUC 320Critical Race Theory in Education

4 units

HIST 277/BLST 277Women and Community Health

4 units

POLS 206Race and American Politics

4 units

DWA 233African Political Thought

4 units

DWA 234Southern African Politics

4 units

HIST 21319th Century Black Activism for Abolition and Equality

4 units

HIST 309Slavery in the Antebellum South

4 units

HIST 312Race, Rights, and Revolution in the Atlantic World

4 units

MUSC 104Music of Africa and the Middle East

4 units

MUSC 111Topics in Jazz History

4 units

MUSC 116African American Music: From Slavery to the Present

4 units

PHIL 321Philosophy of James Baldwin

4 units

POLS 206Race and American Politics

4 units

POLS 352Black Political Thought

4 units

RELS 245African American Religious Traditions

4 units

RELS 259Black Magic

4 units

RELS 302Spirit Possession

4 units

THEA 201Voices in American Theater

4 units

Students may also apply CTSJ 295 to the additional electives cluster if they have enrolled in the "Black Popular Culture // The Black Digital Age" section of the course.

Students may also apply CTSJ 295 to the additional electives cluster if they have enrolled in the "Blackness, Gender, & Sexuality" section of the course.

Students may also apply CTSJ 395 to the additional electives cluster if they have enrolled in the "Chattel Slavery and Its Afterlives" section of the course.

Students may also apply THEA 201 to the additional electives cluster if they have enrolled in "The Black Arts Movement" section of the course.

Students may also apply THEA 201 to the additional electives cluster if they have enrolled in "A Critical Exploration Into the Art, Life & Legacy of August Wilson" section of the course.

Honors in the Major

To be eligible for honors, a student must have at least a 3.25 GPA overall and a 3.5 GPA in the major. Additionally, the student will be required to enroll in the senior seminar (currently BLST 490) in their senior year and complete a 40-page paper on a topic relevant to Black Studies. The paper must earn a grade of A- or above which is to be determined by the adviser in consultation with readers and the department chair.

Minor

The Black Studies minor is a five-course, 20-unit program consisting of one required core class (BLST 101); one elective from each interdisciplinary cluster (expressive forms, historical perspectives, and politics and theory (three courses /12 units); and one additional elective chosen from the approved Black Studies courses.

Required Core Course

BLST 101Introduction to Black Studies

4 units

Historical Perspectives

One course from this category.

HIST 207/BLST 207African American History I: Black Americans and the Making of the Nation

4 units

BLST 208/AMST 208African American History II: The Great Migration and the Transformation of American Culture

4 units

BLST 256/AMST 256Race Women: African American Women's Protest Culture

4 units

BLST 268/AMST 268Style Politics: Beauty and Fashion in Black Women's History

4 units

BLST 376/AMST 376Slavery, Freedom, and American Memory

4 units

Expressive Forms

One course from this category.

BLST 240Black Women Write Social Justice

4 units

BLST 268/AMST 268Style Politics: Beauty and Fashion in Black Women's History

4 units

BLST 360/ENGL 360Toni Morrison and U.S. Imaginative Production

4 units

BLST 346/ENGL 346Beautiful Democracy: 19th Century African American Literature

4 units

BLST 360/ENGL 360Toni Morrison and U.S. Imaginative Production

4 units

BLST 377/ENGL 377Afrofuturism

4 units

ENGL 142/BLST 142Joyful Noise! On Black Literature and Musicality

4 units

ENGL 267Afro-Surrealism

4 units

Politics and Theory

One course from this category.

BLST 218/SOC 218Black Ecological Thought

4 units

BLST 240Black Women Write Social Justice

4 units

BLST 263/SOC 263Du Boisian Social Theory and Analysis

4 units

BLST 315Black Feminist Movements

4 units

BLST 318Waywardness, Fugitivity, and the Anarchism of Blackness

4 units

BLST 343Black Ecology Collaboratory

4 units

Additional Electives

One course either from one of the above categories or from this list of approved outside electives.

CTSJ 280Rastafari

4 units

CTSJ 295Topics in Critical Theory and Social Justice

4 units

EDUC 215Educating African America

4 units

EDUC 320Critical Race Theory in Education

4 units

DWA 233African Political Thought

4 units

DWA 335Junior Seminar: Theories of Revolution from Africa and the African Diaspora

4 units

HIST 21319th Century Black Activism for Abolition and Equality

4 units

HIST 277/BLST 277Women and Community Health

4 units

HIST 309Slavery in the Antebellum South

4 units

HIST 312Race, Rights, and Revolution in the Atlantic World

4 units

MUSC 104Music of Africa and the Middle East

4 units

MUSC 111Topics in Jazz History

4 units

MUSC 116African American Music: From Slavery to the Present

4 units

PHIL 321Philosophy of James Baldwin

4 units

POLS 206Race and American Politics

4 units

POLS 352Black Political Thought

4 units

RELS 245African American Religious Traditions

4 units

RELS 259Black Magic

4 units

RELS 302Spirit Possession

4 units

THEA 201Voices in American Theater

4 units

Students may also apply CTSJ 295 to the additional electives cluster if they have enrolled in the "Black Popular Culture // The Black Digital Age" section of the course.

Students may also apply CTSJ 295 to the additional electives cluster if they have enrolled in the "Blackness, Gender, & Sexuality" section of the course.

Students may also apply CTSJ 395 to the additional electives cluster if they have enrolled in the "Chattel Slavery and Its Afterlives" section of the course.

Students may also apply THEA 201 to the additional electives cluster if they have enrolled in "The Black Arts Movement" section of the course.

Students may also apply THEA 201 to the additional electives cluster if they have enrolled in "A Critical Exploration Into the Art, Life & Legacy of August Wilson" section of the course.

Second-Stage Writing Requirement

The second-stage writing requirement is satisfied by completing two 300-level seminars as detailed in the Black Studies Seminars section above.

Comprehensive Requirement

Students are expected to enroll in the senior seminar (BLST 490) in their senior year in order to develop the work for their comprehensive project. Students will complete their comprehensive requirement by submitting a 25-page paper on a topic relevant to Black Studies.

Transfer Credit Policies

The Black Studies Program accepts online courses for general elective credit, but will not accept online courses for major or minor credit. No more than two courses taken outside the college (including but not limited to study abroad) may count toward the major. These may only fulfill the elective requirement. No more than one course taken outside the college (including but not limited to study abroad) may count toward the minor. Transfer students should consult with their adviser and the department chair on how work completed prior to matriculating at Occidental may be counted toward the major or minor. Students should reference the Transfer Credit section for more details.

Advising Information

Although students are encouraged to take BLST 101 before enrolling in higher-level BLST courses, first-year students are welcome to enroll in any 100- or 200-level BLST course. As an interdisciplinary field, there is no structured path for completion of the Black Studies major or minor. After taking BLST 101, students must complete courses in each of the three clusters that comprise the major/minor: Expressive Forms, Historical Perspectives, and Politics and Theory.

Placement Information

No placement exams are specifically required for the Black Studies major.

Sample 4-Year Plan


Fall

Spring

Year 1

  • Fall FYS course

  • Foreign Language

  • Core Requirement

  • General Elective (4 units)

  • Spring FYS course

  • BLST 101 (CPUD)

  • Core Requirement

  • General Elective (4 units)

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

  • Additional Elective

  • General Elective (4 units)

  • General Elective (4 units)

  • General Elective (4 units)

Black Studies Transfer Student Advice

Designated Transfer Adviser

Transfer students should contact the chair of the department prior to registration for transfer specific advising information.

Courses

Black Studies Courses

Faculty

Tenure and Tenure Track Faculty 

James Ford III, chair; designated transfer adviser 

Associate Professor

B.A., Morehouse College; M.A., Ph.D., University of Notre Dame

 

Erica Ball
Mary Jane Hewitt Department Chair in Black Studies
B.A., Wesleyan University; M.A., Ph.D., The Graduate Center, City University of New York

Michael W. Murphy

Assistant Professor

B.A., University of San Diego; M.A., Ph.D., Brown University

Yumi Pak
Associate Professor
B.A., University of California, Santa Cruz; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, San Diego

Other faculty associated with the Black Studies department can be viewed here.