The Department of Black Studies at Amherst was founded in the early 1970s in response to the demand from students and concerned faculty for a space at the college in which issues of race and the cultural connections between Africa and the Black Diaspora could be explored. From the outset, the faculty members who implemented the Department's program saw their work as cross-cultural and interdisciplinary. Black Studies faculty and students come from a range of ethnic and racial backgrounds. They bring to the classroom a diverse array of experiences, traditions and disciplinary strengths. Each regular Black Studies faculty member holds a joint appointment in Black Studies and another department. At present, these include Religion, Philosophy, English, Fine Arts and History. In addition, the Department's offerings are augmented by courses taught in Sociology and Anthropology, Music, Political Science, Economics, and Theater and Dance. Core Faculty:
Rowland Abiodun
Stefan Bradley
Rhonda Cobham-Sander
Solsiree del Moral
John E. Drabinski
Elizabeth Herbin-Triant
Jallicia Jolly
Jared Loggins
Russell Lohse
Hilary Moss
Watufani Poe
Khary Polk
Olufemi Vaughan
Affiliated faculty include: Carol Bailey, Utku Balaban, Amrita Basu, David Delaney, Aneeka Henderson, Michael Kunichika, Ron Lembo, Olabode Omojola, Marisa Parham, Sean Redding, Jessica Reyes, Jason Robinson, Jude Sandy and Adam Sitze. Black Studies majors learn in many ways. For a start, all majors take an introductory course that familiarizes them with some of the central debates and problems within the field: Is there such a thing as a "Black" experience? How African is African-American culture? What kinds of theories can we advance to explain the relationship between race and a range of social and economic indicators? How have scholars traditionally understood the connections between Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas? How do issues of gender affect issues of race? What new insights do postmodern and postcolonial theories offer on all these subjects? Usually two members of the Department teach this course together; other Department members often contribute guest lectures. Many of the thematic and disciplinary questions raised in the introductory course are expanded upon in other courses. Majors must take at least two courses on African, African-American and Caribbean/Latin American themes. Majors must also ensure that these courses are drawn from at least three distinct disciplines. Perhaps most importantly, all majors take at least one course that requires them to examine the links among various Black cultures. Offerings in this category have included a course on cross-cultural psychology, a course that compares the various ways in which childhood figures in Caribbean and African literary texts, and a course that examines the historical and cultural significance of the Atlantic region as the crucible for the creation of a dialogue among Black cultures.
