Black Studies
Interdisciplinary Studies
Why Minor in Black Studies at Allegheny College
As a Black Studies student, you’ll prepare to become a scholar and engaged member of local and global Black communities. You’ll explore African American and diasporic history and culture through a wide array of disciplines that challenge you and expand your perspectives.
Unusual Combinations
Students often combine Black Studies with:
Division
- Interdisciplinary Studies
Program Type
- Minor
Number of Credits
20 for minorWhere Black Studies Alumni Work Today
Attorney
Morella & Associates
Dean Phillips ’19
Student Engagement Coordinator / Diversity and Inclusion Specialist
Community College of Allegheny County
Aaliyah Coleman ’21
Residential Behavioral Therapist
Soar Autism Center
Khadra Jeylani ’22
I have been challenged to integrate the material across many different disciplines and to think critically about how these varying areas of academia add to not just the understanding of race and racism in the modern world but also a comprehension of the oppression faced by all types of marginalized people.
Your Four-Year Journey
Year 1: Understanding
Learn key concepts in the field, how to ask new questions that center Black cultures and race, and understand how contemporary activism and scholarship is grounded in the discipline’s activist roots.
Featured Courses:
Year 2: New Approaches
Your second year is when you’ll start to build your interdisciplinary program in consultation with your mentors by drawing on courses from across campus that bring your interests into focus.
Year 3: Delving Deeper
This is an important year as you learn the central role critical race theory plays in blending knowledge and activism. You also continue to build your minor from electives offered across campus.
Featured Courses
Year 4: The Comp
In your final year, you’ll engage in a capstone course that synthesizes the minor and asks you to reflect on how you might draw on what you’ve learned in Black Studies as you think about your life after graduating from Allegheny.
Featured Courses
Research and Internships
We’ll help open up a conversation that reflects the breadth and depth of African American experiences through real-world opportunities, from Allegheny’s own campus to places across the globe.
Our black studies students expand their knowledge through internships, study away, exchange programs, student organizations, and more.
There are various student clubs and organizations that students with an interest in black studies can get involved in right here on campus, including:
- African Students Association
- Association for the Advancement of Black Culture (ABC)
- Black Girl Magic (BGM)
- Men of Color Advancement Association (MOCAA)
- Queer People of Color (QPOC)
Instructed by JW P. Heuchert, this study tour is an investigation of development, change, and transition in South Africa, where exquisite animal and plant life, rich human diversity, complex history, and an exciting future make it a unique location to learn about another country and other cultures.
Students develop a profound firsthand understanding of the complex economic and social issues at work in Kenya or Senegal, and learn intercultural skills necessary to become an effective leader in an increasingly interdependent world.
Allegheny offers an exchange program to South Africa University of Natal, Durban, or Pietermaritzburg Campuses, all locations in areas rich with history. The university offers courses that both supplement and enhance Allegheny’s curriculum. Students may study at Natal for one semester or for the entire academic year.
Faculty and Staff
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of Maryland; M.A., University of Birmingham; Graduate Certificate and M.A., University of Maryland; B.A. Colby College
Email: bshaw@allegheny.edu
Phone: 814-332-2097
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Dayton; MTS Tyndale University College and Seminary; M.A., Northeastern Seminary; B.A., Niagara University
Email: ddelgado@allegheny.edu
Featured News
Allegheny Alumnus Trailblazing the Way for Endurance Runners
Allegheny College alumnus, Lamont King ‘95, pushes through the formidable physical pain with a fierce mental strength that perhaps only ultramarathon runners can understand, let alone endure.
Related Programs
Explore gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, abilities, socioeconomic status, nationality, and religion as central formations in communication & media, law & policy, health & wellbeing, education & scientific inquiry, and visual, performative, and creative arts. You'll work with faculty and students across campus to think creatively about how to address some of the most pressing issues we face in the 21st-century–from climate change to health disparities, reproductive justice to (im)migration, and from gendered violence to LGBTQ+ rights.
As a Psychology student, you'll delve into human thought and behavior, blending paradigms and new ways of understanding. You'll gain problem-solving, analytical, and interpersonal abilities that will set the stage for your future in a wide variety of rewarding careers.
Rather than asking what happened, we ask how we know. Hone in on research and writing skills to better understand the complex relationship between the past and present to prepare for your future.
Address:
520 North Main Street
Meadville, PA 16335
Contact:
814-332-4351
info@allegheny.edu
admissions@allegheny.edu
