The Black Studies concentration will offer a variety of subjects on the history, culture and structure of societies of African descent throughout the world, with special emphasis on those of the United States and the Caribbean. The purpose of the concentration is to allow students to focus critical and analytic attention on issues of concern to black communities of the Western hemisphere, to allow students to gain a wider appreciation of the dynamic nature of those communities, and to assist students to understand the historical, humanistic, political and social dimensions of ethnicity and race.
Concentration requirements: Four subjects, selected in consultation with the Concentration Advisor. A HASS Concentration may include only ONE (1) HASS-D that counts toward the HASS-D Requirement. You may include more than one only if the additional HASS-D class will NOT count as a HASS-D in your degree audit.
The following subjects, offered by the various departments, programs and sections within the School of Humanities and Social Science, constitute the core of the Black Studies concentration:
Archaeology, Anthropology, and Urban Studies
3.988 Africa – Past and Present: An Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials Perspective
11.023 Bridging Cultural and Racial Differences
History
21H.116J The Civil War and Reconstruction [STS.029J]
21H.117 The Black Radical Tradition in America
STS.048 African Americans in Science, Technology, and Medicine
Literature, Foreign Languages and
21L.007 World Literatures HASS-D, CI-H
21L.504 Race and Identity in American Literature [SP.518J]
Linguistics
24.908 Creole Languages and Caribbean Identities
Music and Theater Arts
21M.030 Introduction to World Music HASS-D, CI-H
21M.226 Jazz HASS-D
21M.293 Music of Africa
21M.630 Black Matters: Introduction to Black Studies
21M.712 African-American Performance
21M.775 Hip-Hop
21M.863 Advanced Topics in Theater Arts (when applicable - minimum of 9 units)
Political Science
17.311 Politics, Race, and Science
17.523 Ethnic Conflicts in World Politics
17.907 Reading Seminar in Social Science (when applicable - minimum of 9 units)
Writing
21W.742J Writing About Race HASS-D, CI-H [SP.575J]
21W.766J Contemporary US Women of Color: Writing and Reading Short Stories [SP.574J]
Students that have taken the following subjects that are no longer offered can count these subjects toward their concentration:
17.305J Race, Gender, and Law [SP.604J]
17.53 Democratization in Asia, Africa, and Latin America HASS-D
21A.240 Race and Science
21A.460J Medicine, Religion and Politics in Africa and the African Diaspora [SP.621J]
21H.705 Introduction to the History of Modern Africa
Additional information can be obtained from the Concentration Advisor or from the History Office, E51-285, x3-4965
Massachusetts Institute of Technology