Major
Core Courses
| BLST 101 | Introduction to Black Studies | 4 units |
| BLST 393 | Junior Directed Research | 2 units |
| BLST 490 | Black Studies Senior Seminar | 2 units |
| BLST 493 | Senior Comps Directed Research | 2 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 207 | African American History I: Black Americans and the Making of the Nation | 4 units |
| BLST 208/AMST 208 | African American History II: The Great Migration and the Transformation of American Culture | 4 units |
| BLST 247 | The Black Athlete: Race and Sports in American History | 4 units |
| BLST 256/AMST 256 | Race Women: African American Women's Protest Culture | 4 units |
| BLST 268/AMST 268 | Style Politics: Beauty and Fashion in Black Women's History | 4 units |
| BLST 367 | Beyond the Color Line: Race, Sex, and the Law in American History | 4 units |
| BLST 376/AMST 376 | Slavery, Freedom, and American Memory | 4 units |
Expressive Forms
Politics and Theory
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.
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. Students can also fulfill an additional elective with a 4-unit Directed Research (BLST 293) course.
| DWA 335 | Junior Seminar: Theories of Revolution from Africa and the African Diaspora | 4 units |
| EDUC 215 | Educating African America | 4 units |
| EDUC 320 | Critical Race Theory in Education | 4 units |
| HIST 277/BLST 277 | Women and Community Health | 4 units |
| POLS 206 | Race and American Politics | 4 units |
| DWA 233 | African Political Thought | 4 units |
| DWA 234 | Southern African Politics | 4 units |
| HIST 213 | 19th Century Black Activism for Abolition and Equality | 4 units |
| HIST 309 | Slavery in the Antebellum South | 4 units |
| HIST 312 | Race, Rights, and Revolution in the Atlantic World | 4 units |
| MUSC 104 | Music of Africa and the Middle East | 4 units |
| MUSC 111 | Topics in Jazz History | 4 units |
| MUSC 116 | African American Music: From Slavery to the Present | 4 units |
| PHIL 321 | Philosophy of James Baldwin | 4 units |
| POLS 206 | Race and American Politics | 4 units |
| POLS 352 | Black Political Thought | 4 units |
| RELS 245 | African American Religious Traditions | 4 units |
| RELS 259 | Black Magic | 4 units |
| RELS 302 | Spirit Possession | 4 units |
| THEA 201 | Voices 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.
- Enroll in the comps sequence of course: BLST 393 in their junior year, as well as BLST 490, and BLST 493 in their senior year.
- By the mid-semester date in the fall semester of the senior year, students must seek permission from the department to submit an honors thesis. The department's decision will be based on the student's progress in their comps project from BLST 393 to the start of BLST 490.
- Students who are approved will complete a 40-page thesis-driven 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. One of the electives has to be a 300 level Black Studies course.
Required Core Course
| BLST 101 | Introduction to Black Studies | 4 units |
Historical Perspectives
One course from this category.
| HIST 207/BLST 207 | African American History I: Black Americans and the Making of the Nation | 4 units |
| BLST 208/AMST 208 | African American History II: The Great Migration and the Transformation of American Culture | 4 units |
| BLST 256/AMST 256 | Race Women: African American Women's Protest Culture | 4 units |
| BLST 268/AMST 268 | Style Politics: Beauty and Fashion in Black Women's History | 4 units |
| BLST 376/AMST 376 | Slavery, Freedom, and American Memory | 4 units |
Expressive Forms
One course from this category.
Politics and Theory
One course from this category.
| BLST 218/SOC 218 | Black Ecological Thought | 4 units |
| BLST 240 | Black Women Write Social Justice | 4 units |
| BLST 263/SOC 263 | Du Boisian Social Theory and Analysis | 4 units |
| BLST 315 | Black Feminist Movements | 4 units |
| BLST 318 | Waywardness, Fugitivity, and the Anarchism of Blackness | 4 units |
| BLST 343 | Black Ecology Collaboratory | 4 units |
Additional Electives
One course either from one of the above categories or from this list of approved outside electives.
| CTSJ 280 | Rastafari | 4 units |
| EDUC 215 | Educating African America | 4 units |
| EDUC 320 | Critical Race Theory in Education | 4 units |
| DWA 233 | African Political Thought | 4 units |
| DWA 335 | Junior Seminar: Theories of Revolution from Africa and the African Diaspora | 4 units |
| HIST 213 | 19th Century Black Activism for Abolition and Equality | 4 units |
| HIST 277/BLST 277 | Women and Community Health | 4 units |
| HIST 309 | Slavery in the Antebellum South | 4 units |
| HIST 312 | Race, Rights, and Revolution in the Atlantic World | 4 units |
| MUSC 104 | Music of Africa and the Middle East | 4 units |
| MUSC 111 | Topics in Jazz History | 4 units |
| MUSC 116 | African American Music: From Slavery to the Present | 4 units |
| PHIL 321 | Philosophy of James Baldwin | 4 units |
| POLS 206 | Race and American Politics | 4 units |
| POLS 352 | Black Political Thought | 4 units |
| RELS 245 | African American Religious Traditions | 4 units |
| RELS 259 | Black Magic | 4 units |
| RELS 302 | Spirit Possession | 4 units |
| THEA 201 | Voices 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.