African & African American Diaspora Studies Minor

Joy Jacobs-Lawson, Ph.D., Division Chair

Pasteur Hall 165, Phone 502.272.7901, jjacobslawson@bellarmine.edu

African and African American Diaspora Studies, more broadly known as Black Studies, is an interdisciplinary field devoted to studying and understanding the experiences and thoughts of African-descended people. Black Studies first emerged as a formal discipline in the 1960s and began as both a political and academic demand grounded in the social movements of the time. One of the central goals of Black Studies was to address Eurocentric paradigms in higher education and transform curricula to be more holistic by incorporating and emphasizing the study of people of African descent. Building on the historical tradition of intellectual-activism in African culture, Black Studies also stresses the pursuit and use of knowledge for the betterment of community, society, and humanity.

Bellarmine students who minor in AAADS will encounter courses that explore and analyze the histories, traditions, and experiences of people in Africa and the African Diaspora, with emphasis on African Americans in the United States.  Students will also engage in a critical examination of the dynamics of colonization, oppression, self-determination and liberation. By gaining knowledge of the Black experience, Bellarmine students will enhance their ability to understand and engage with contemporary social, cultural, and political issues. Moreover, students will find themselves more prepared for life and professional careers in an increasingly multicultural society.

Our engaging curricula, taught by dynamic faculty from across Bellarmine's campus, include courses in art, music, English, history, theology, and sociology.