Black Studies

College of Ethnic Studies
Dean: Tomás Almaguer

Department of Black Studies
PSY 103
415-338-1054
Chair: Theophile Obenga

Faculty

Professors—Head, Love, Nobles, Obenga, Richards, T'Shaka, Yansane

Associate Professor—Ford, Tsuruta

Lecturers—Aaron, Cavil, Goddard, Hubbard, Malonga, Smith, Jr., Tyron, Vincent, Wobogo

Programs

B.A. in Black Studies
Minor in Black Studies


Program Scope

The Black Studies Department at San Francisco State University was the first Black Studies Department established on a four-year college campus in the United States. The birth of Black Studies at SFSU in 1968 was, in fact, inspired by student-led opposition to the then Western intellectual hegemony and racist scholarship that characterized the limitations found in traditional approaches to college education.

Every student should know about the unparalleled and unmatched contributions African and African American people have made to human civilization. These contributions include the formulation of the first system of government for a territorial state; creation of the foundations of science, mathematics, and advanced technology; the first written script, the foundations of philosophy and psychology; the building of the great pyramids and such modern inventions as the first electric light filament, the cotton gin, the first gas mask, the double effect evaporator, and the first design of a three stage rocket capable of interstellar flight. In studying Black studies, students are able to learn about, critique, and be inspired by the accomplishments of African men and women who shaped and are shaping the moral conscience, artistic genius, scientific and technical achievements, and political activism of their time.

The Department of Black Studies at SFSU has continued to be in the vanguard of the intellectual discourse pertaining to domestic and global freedom and development of African people throughout the world. The maturation of the discipline has resulted in new and innovative alternatives to the traditional paradigms of oppression and exclusion. In addition to learning aspects of human history that have been hidden and/or stolen, when students study Black studies they learn how to recognize and challenge intellectual hegemony and racist science. The discipline of Black studies not only provides students with the experience of challenging traditional Western orthodoxy, but also gives them an opportunity to explore new and alternative paradigms and theories. In Black studies, students acquire and develop an appreciation for both the origins of knowledge, the philosophy of science, and the politics of knowing. Students develop a social character and personal outlook that gives them the ability to contribute to the well-being of themselves and humanity. The Black Studies curriculum is designed to address the needs of the African and African American community as a classroom where lessons can be learned and taught. The discipline of Black studies prepares students to not only understand the world they live in but to see where the world is wanting and to have the ability and the desire to make it better.

All students majoring in Black studies are required to complete a program consisting of core courses and electives with concentrations in the areas of the humanities and behavioral and social sciences. The core courses (27 units) provide the students with an appreciation of the historical development and intellectual foundation of the discipline as well as the critical knowledge base, intellectual skills, and methodological techniques essential to the field of Black studies. The courses offered in the concentrations (twelve units each) allow the student to gain a deeper intellectual grasp of the field within one of two important concentrations.

BACHELOR OF ARTS IN BLACK STUDIES

On-line course descriptions are available.

The Bachelor of Arts in Black Studies includes basic core courses (27 units), an area of concentration (12 units), and electives on advisement (6 units).

Program Units
BL S 101 Introduction to Black Studies 3
BL S 200 Introduction to Black Psychology 3
BL S 201 Black Involvement in Scientific Development 3
BL S 210 Introduction to Black Literature 3
BL S 300 From Africa to America 3
BL S 302 Black Diaspora 3
BL S 340 Economics of the Black Community 3
BL S 516 Research Methods 3
BL S 551 Fieldwork in Black Studies 3
Total for core 27
Area of Concentration (listed below) 12
Electives upon advisement from Black Studies or related area 6
Total for major 45
Black Humanities Concentration
Units selected on advisement 12
BL S 221 Afro-American Music: A 20th Century Survey
BL S 225 Images and Issues in Black Visual Media
BL S 301 Africa in Global Perspectives
BL S 303 Afro-American History
BL S 400 Black Arts and Humanities
BL S 411 African–African American Literature
BL S 420 Black Fiction
BL S 430 Black Poetry
BL S 440 Black Oratory
BL S 450 Black Philosophy
BL S 617 Black Dance Experience
BL S 660 Black Journalism
Black Behavioral and Social Sciences Concentration
Units selected on advisement 12
BL S 111 Black Cultures and Personalities
BL S 206 Black Child Development
BL S 215 Introduction to Black Family Studies
BL S 301 Africa in Global Perspectives
BL S 303 Afro-American History
BL S 310 Anthropology of Blackness
BL S 320 Black Politics, Mass Movements, and Liberation Themes
BL S 326 Black Religion
BL S 330 Sociological Dimensions of the Black Experience
BL S 370 Health, Medicine, and Nutrition in the Black Community
BL S 515 Black Family Studies
BL S 555 Pigmentation and the Experience of Color
BL S 610 Art, Myth, and Religion
BL S 655 Selected Topics in Black Studies (1–3)

MINOR PROGRAM IN BLACK STUDIES

Program Units
BL S 101 Introduction to Black Studies 3
BL S 200 Introduction to Black Psychology 3
BL S 201 Black Involvement in Scientific Development 3
BL S 210 Introduction to Black Literature 3
BL S 300 From Africa to America 3
BL S 302 Black Diaspora 3
BL S 340 Economics of the Black Community 3
BL S 516 Research Methods 3
Total 24