Black Studies

First Course Recommendations

• BLST 015. Introduction to Black Studies

• This course introduces students to the breadth and depth of the discipline in the Black Studies Program, using primary sources. It begins with an examination of current debates that define theory, method, and goals in black studies. It also examines the movement from the more object centered Africana studies to subject- and agentic oriented black studies that occurred as a result of civil rights and anti-colonialist movements in the U.S., Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe. The course examines the challenges that were levied against traditional academic disciplines with the rise of anti-racist scholarship. It briefly examines the conversation between American, Caribbean, and African postcolonialists, and it allows students to delve into some of black studies’ most current and exciting scholarship, with a focus on the U.S.

The Academic Program

Course Minor

All interdisciplinary minors in Black Studies are required to take BLST 015: Introduction to Black Studies, ordinarily during their first two years, and four additional courses listed in the catalog that earn Black Studies credit. Of these four additional courses, at least one of them must be outside of the departmental major, and no more than one course taken outside of Swarthmore may be counted toward the minor. To be accepted into the minor a GPA of 3.0 in Black Studies related courses is recommended. We strongly advise students to take at least one course in African or African diasporic history.

Honors Minor

Honors minors must meet all requirements of the course minor. Students participating in the Honors Program are invited to define a minor in the Black Studies Program.  Honors minors in Black Studies must complete a two-credit preparation for their honors portfolio to be submitted to external examiners. The following options apply:

1) A two-credit honors thesis written under program supervision,

2) A one credit thesis paired with a BLST course,

3) A two-credit honors seminar that counts toward the BLST Program, or

4) The pairing of two one-credit courses that count toward the BLST Program.

• BLST 015. Introduction to Black Studies

Special Major

Students preferring more intensive work in Black Studies are welcome to design a special major by consulting with the program’s coordinator, usually during sophomore year. The special major includes the requirements for the minor plus 5 additional credits, one of which usually includes a capstone experience to be decided upon in consultation with the program’s coordinator. Forms for the Special Major are available from the Registrar’s Office and should be filed with the program coordinator and the Registrar’s Office.

Thesis / Culminating Exercise

Students may complete a one-credit course thesis (BLST 091) as part of the Black Studies minor or special major.  Permission will be granted only after consultation with the Black Studies coordinator and committee, normally either during the spring of the junior year or in September of the senior year. Students may also do a thesis/culminating exercise as part of another Black Studies course taken during their senior year, but this arrangement must be approved by the Black Studies program beforehand.  

Application Process Notes for the Major or the Minor

Students in any department may add an interdisciplinary minor in Black Studies to their departmental major by fulfilling the requirements stated above. Applications for admission to the Black Studies minor or major should be made in the spring semester of the sophomore year through MYSwarthmore. 

Life After Swarthmore

Students with a background in Black Studies have pursued many different professions after graduation. Some have worked in research, or social service organizations, while others have gone directly to graduate school. Many eventually become teachers or professors. But many others work in broadcasting, arts, journalism, law (including international law), business, finance, politics, or non-governmental organizations. All consider Black Studies to have been an important part of their liberal arts education. https://www.swarthmore.edu/sites/default/files/assets/documents/black-studies-program/WhatCanIDoWithABlackStudiesMajor.pdf

Black Studies Courses

Courses in the Black Studies Program are listed below. Courses of independent study, special attachments on subjects relevant to black studies, and courses offered by visiting faculty that are not regularly listed in the catalog may also qualify for credit in the program, subject to the approval of the Black Studies Committee. Students who wish to pursue these possibilities should consult with the program coordinator.

The following courses may be counted for credit in the Black Studies Program. Descriptions of the courses can be found in each department’s course listings in this catalog.

• BLST 007. Chester Semester Fellowship
• BLST 008B. Music, Race and Class
• BLST 015. Introduction to Black Studies
• BLST 017. Introduction to Black Queer Studies
• BLST 028. Black Liberation 2020
• BLST 030C. The Black Atlantic: Diasporic Perspectives and Resistance
• BLST 033. African Cinemas
• BLST 039. Black Health Futures and the Pandemic Present: From Yellow Fever to HIV/AIDS
• BLST 040G. Between the “Is” and the “Ought” Black Social and Political Thought
• BLST 041. Transnational Perspectives in Black Studies: Haitian Literature and Culture from the 19th Century, the Contemporary, to the Diaspora
• BLST 042. Black Feminist and Queer Contemporary Culture
• BLST 045. Remapping Caribbean Spaces
• BLST 054. Toni Morrison
• BLST 059. The Black Freedom Struggle: From Civil Rights to Hip-Hop
• BLST 060. Early Black Media Cultures
• BLST 090G. Black Liberation 1969: Black Studies in History Theory and Praxis
• BLST 091. Thesis
• BLST 092. Seminar in Black Studies
• BLST 093. Directed Reading
• BLST 094A. Student Run: Freedom Dreaming: Black Radical Insurgency and Abolitionist Imaginings
• BLST 099. Independent Study
• BLST 116. Redefining US Southern Literature
• BLST 133. Race, Boyhood, and Education
• BLST 180. Honors Thesis