Black Women's Studies Minor

The Black Women's Studies Minor consists of 15 total credits, 9 of which are at the 300 or 400 level. No course with a grade less than “C-” may be used to satisfy minor requirements, and an overall GPA of 2.0 in the minor is required for graduation. No more than 6 credits can overlap with a major.

Foundation Courses: 6 credits, two courses

1. Introductory Course – 3 credits – Choose one course from these three

• WMST263/AASP 298I: “Introduction to Black Women’s Studies”
• WMST265/AASP298B: “Construction of Manhood and Womanhood in the Black Community”
• *WMST264/LGBT 264: “Quare/Queer Contentions: Explorations of Sexualities in the Black Community”

2. Historical Course – 3 credits – Choose one course from these three

• WMST314/AASP313: “Black Women in U.S. History”
• AASP498I/HIST360/WMST498M: “Women and the Civil Rights Movement”
• *AASP398G: “Gender, Labor, and Racial Identity in Diasporic Communities”

Electives: 9 credits (3 courses) – Of the 9 elective credits, 6 credits must be upper-level (300 or 400)
A list of the eligible courses available each semester will be available from the program advisor during the registration period.

Comparative Coursework Requirement– Of the 15 total credits, 3 must come from a comparative or non-U.S. course, indicated on the course list below with an *.

Lower Level Courses

• WGSS263/AASP298I/AASP203: “Introduction to Black Women’s Studies”
• *WGSS264/LGBT264: “Quare/Queer Contentions: Explorations of Sexualities in the Black Community”
• WGSS265/AASP298B: “Constructions of Manhood and Womanhood in the Black Community”
• WGSS267: “Introduction to Black Women’s Cultural Studies”
• WGSS291: “Racialized Gender and Rebel Media”
• THET240: “African Americans in Film and Theater”

Upper Level Courses

•  WGSS314/AASP 313: “Black Women in U.S. History”
• *WGSS360: “Caribbean Women”
• *ENGL362: “Caribbean Literature in English”
•  WGSS370: “Black Feminist Thought”
• *AASP398G: “Gender, Labor, and Racial Identity in Diasporic Communities”
• *WGSS410: “Women of the African Diaspora”
•  WGSS448/ENGL448: “Special Topics in Women’s Studies”: Acceptable courses include: *”Caribbean Literature by Women”, *”Women Writers of the African Diaspora”
•  AASP398U: “Selected Topics in the African Diaspora; Angela Davis”
•  ENGL439A: “Spotlight on Major Writers; Toni Morrison: Race, Gender, & American Culture”
• *FREN478B: “Themes and Movements of French Literature in Translation: Francophone Women Writers”
•  WGSS488: “Senior Seminar”: Acceptable courses include –“Black Women in the Public Eye”, “Black Women and the Arts”
•  AASP483: “Gender, Sexuality and the Black Family”
•  AASP493: “Feminist and Nationalist Thought in the Black Community”
•  AASP498: “Special Topics in Black Culture”: Acceptable topics include – “Race, Gender & Labor”; “Black Masculinities in Art, Music & Dance”; “Black Women in Popular Culture: From the Blues to Beyonce”
•  AASP498I/HIST360/WMST498M: “Women and the Civil Rights Movement”
•  AASP 499C/ WGSS498R Race and Reproduction
•  WGSS 496/THET496: “African American Women Filmmakers”
•  WGSS498Z: “Black Women’s Art and Culture”

Note: Students admitted after 2020 should follow the requirements described above. These requirements are for students admitted prior to 2020.

Requires 15 credits; including 9 credits at the 300-400 level distributed as follows:

WMST263/AASP298I/AASP203: “Introduction to Black Women’s Studies”
Introduction to Black women’s studies, Black women’s history, lives, political thought, and cultural practices. Comparing Black women’s own self-perceptions and behaviors with the social norms and ideals about women within the Black community and in the larger society, the course examines the racial/sexual politics of Black women’s lives.

OR

WMST 265/AASP 298B/AASP 213: “Constructions of Manhood and Womanhood in the Black Community”
Investigates the ways that African Americans are represented and constructed in public and private spheres and explores the social constructions and representations of Black manhood and womanhood from various disciplinary perspectives.

AND

WMST314/AASP313: “Black Women in U.S. History”
Covering African American women’s history from slavery to the present by applying analytical frameworks of race, gender and class to understand the life cycles and multiple roles of women of the African diaspora as mothers, daughters, wives, workers and social change agents.

Additional Course Requirements
One course (3 credits) from Area I – Comparative or Non-US course
One course (3 credits) from Area II – Humanities
One course (3 credits) from Area III – Social Sciences

No course with a grade less than “C-” may be used to satisfy major requirements, and an overall
GPA of 2.0 in the major is required for graduation.