Knowra Black studies Black studies Black studies is an interdisciplinary field examining the histories, cultures, politics, and experiences of people of African descent, especially in relation to race, power, and identity.
San Francisco State University strike of 1968–1969 : A student strike that helped establish the first Black studies department in the United States. The strike’s Third World Liberation Front demands made Black studies an institutional priority.
African American history : The study of the histories of people of African descent in the United States. It provides a major historical foundation while Black studies also reaches beyond the United States.
Africana studies : An interdisciplinary field studying Africa and its diasporas, including their histories, cultures, and societies. Many institutions use this broader name for programs closely related to Black studies.
African studies : An interdisciplinary field studying African societies, histories, cultures, and politics. It centers the African continent, whereas Black studies often centers Black life across the diaspora.
Ethnic studies movement : Student and community activism that pressed universities to establish curricula and programs centered on racialized groups. Black studies organizing helped inspire broader demands for ethnic studies programs.
Black Power movement : A movement advocating Black self-determination, political power, and cultural affirmation. Black Power supplied language and organizing networks for demands to create Black studies programs.
African diaspora studies : An interdisciplinary study of African-descended peoples, cultures, and histories across the world. It supplies a transnational frame for Black studies beyond national histories.
Black feminist thought : A body of social theory developed by Black women that analyzes intersecting systems of power and knowledge. It offers methods and arguments central to courses and research in Black studies.
Ethnic studies : An interdisciplinary field examining race, ethnicity, and the histories and experiences of racialized communities. Black studies is one distinct formation within the broader institutional field of ethnic studies.
Black canon : A body of works recognized as central to Black literary, historical, and intellectual traditions. The field has debated and expanded which works institutions teach as foundational.
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