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.
Center for Black Studies
150 Extended Studies Building (XSB)
503-725-3472
Established in 1969, the Center for Black Studies at Portland State University facilitates the study of the past and present experiences of black America.
Among the goals of the center is to act as a forum between faculty members and students of different disciplines who share an interest in black studies; to collect and disseminate information which accurately reflects and helps improve the black experience; and to link the University and black communities by maintaining an active role in community service.
The center provides the University and the broader community with cultural activities and the stimulation of an exciting and enlightening intellectual atmosphere in the Portland community, contributing to greater understanding and cooperation between races. A lecture series brings to the campus and the Portland community black speakers of different disciplines and philosophies who have made notable contributions to society. The center promotes national and international activities in this area through the generation of grants, proposals, and programs that combine University staff, money, and expertise with resources from the government and the private sector.