Dean's Office, College of Arts

The Black Canadian Studies minor is dedicated to the study of the histories and experiences, cultural identities, social and community formations, politics and contemporary concerns of Black people in Canada, other parts of the Americas, and the world. Students will learn about Black creative expression and literature, political and labour movements, and issues of language, law, immigration, and health. This minor seeks to explore essential contemporary and historical questions and examine how Black people contribute to a greater understanding of the world.

Learning Outcomes

A student who graduates from the Black Canadian Studies minor program at the University of Guelph will be able to do the following:

Community Engagement and Global Understanding

• Demonstrate through various modalities (written, oral) an understanding of black Canadian positionings in relation to Canadian culture overall and to the global African diaspora more generally.
• Mobilise inter-cultural competencies to provide solutions to problems.

Critical and Creative Thinking

• Synthesize and integrate the theoretical, historical, literary, and philosophical frameworks of prominent Black thinkers into assignments and research projects.
• Engage with the work of Black creatives, i.e. poetry, filmmaking, spoken word, storytelling, blended language, music and so on in the context of research creation.

Literacy and Communication

• Demonstrate proficiency in written, oral, and creative modes of communication to engage with a range of communities and audiences about issues related to Black identity and Black thought.
• Work with a variety of nativities and dialects (AAVE, Patois, etc.) drawn from a variety of sources, i.e. archival, literary, or performative/embodied.

Evaluate and Conduct Research

• Incorporate critical theories from a variety of disciplines to construct methodologies to conduct research on Black identity and Black epistemologies.
• Engage with theories relating to Black identity to formulate and critically analyse the limitations of research questions.

Depth and Breadth of Understanding

• Recognise both the importance and limitations of multi-disciplinary approaches to research in Black Studies.
• Synthesize, integrate, and critically evaluate complex ideas related to Black identities.

Professional Development and Ethical Behavior

• Demonstrate active, ethical citizenship that incorporates inter-cultural competencies, critical self-reflection, and a sensitivity to positionality.
• Merge research with community engagement in ethical, responsible, and mutually beneficial ways.

Minor Requirements (Honours)

A minimum of 5.00 credits is required, including:

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
BLCK*1000	Introduction to Black Studies in Canada	0.50
BLCK*2000	Black Canadian History	0.50
BLCK*2020	Black Canadian Studies: Research Methodologies	0.50
BLCK*3000	Theorising Race and Racism	0.50
BLCK*3010	Experiential Learning in Black Studies	1.00
An additional 1.00 credits in Black Identities subjects:
ENGL*2200	Postcolonial Literatures, Film, and Other Media	0.50
ENGL*3760	The Atlantic World	0.50
HIST*2130	Modern Sport - A Global History	0.50
HIST*2340	Slavery and Migrations in the Atlantic World, 1500-1850	0.50
HIST*3440	The Global Sixties	0.50
IDEV*1000	Understanding Development and Global Inequalities	0.50
IDEV*2400	Development, Social Justice and Human Rights	0.50
PSYC*2310	Social Psychology	0.50
PSYC*3000	Historical and Critical Perspectives on Psychology	0.50
PSYC*3350	Cross-Cultural Psychology	0.50
SOAN*2290	Identities and Cultural Diversity	0.50
SOAN*2400	Introduction to Gender Systems	0.50
SOAN*3130	Protest, Resistance, and Collective Action	0.50
SOAN*3240	Gender and Global Inequality I	0.50
SOAN*3250	Social Change in Latin America	0.50
1.00 credits from the following in Black Cultures:
CTS*3000	Data and Difference	0.50
ENGL*2370	Literature and Community-Engaged Learning	0.50
ENGL*2640	Culture, Location, Identity: Minoritized Literatures in Canada and Beyond	0.50
ENGL*3540	Writing the United States	0.50
ENGL*3550	Modern United States Literatures	0.50
ENGL*3630	Writing Canada: Forging the Nation	0.50
ENGL*3750	Studies in Postcolonial Literatures	0.50
MUSC*2140	History of Jazz	0.50
MUSC*2150	Music and Popular Culture	0.50
MUSC*2270	World Music	0.50
SXGN*1010	Sexuality, Gender, Race, and Indigeneity	0.50
UNIV*2010	Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Oppression	0.50

Note: Some of the courses are restricted to students in specific majors (e.g. PSYC*3000) and/or have prerequisites not included in the minor. Regular restrictions and prerequisite requirements are in effect.