Black Studies

150 Extended Studies Building (XSB)

503-725-3472

www.pdx.edu/blackstudies

• B.A., B.S.
• Minor
• Postbaccalaureate Certificate

The Department of Black Studies is an academic interdisciplinary unit within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The primary focus is in the social sciences and liberal arts. The Department of Black Studies is devoted to the exploration and analysis of the history, politics, and culture of African people in the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa. It seeks to objectively explore the black experience, to illuminate the contributions of African people to world culture, and to provide an alternative to traditional approaches to the study of world history that have bypassed the African experience.

The objectives of the Department of Black Studies include providing comprehensive learning programs aimed at greater understanding by all people of the black experience, past, present, and future.

The Department of Black Studies seeks to expose students from all cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds to academic experiences beyond those generally found in traditional college curricula.

The program will provide students with a general historical background of the black experience in Africa and the Western hemisphere, as well as provide detailed examination of cross-cultural and multi-ethnic dynamics in the contemporary social-political context.

In addition, this program will enhance the students ability to function in current job markets that serve multi-cultural and multi-ethnic populations, particularly where the black experience is crucial. It will also give students a competitive advantage in obtaining careers in those areas and within communities that interact with African, African American, and Caribbean cultures.