Black Studies

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Black Studies

Contact Information

Phone: 401.865.2125
Fax: 401.865.2232
Location: Howley Hall 119

The Faculty

Professors

Anthony D. Affigne, Ph.D. (Political Science/Black Studies), Department Chair
Eric L. Hirsch, Ph.D. (Sociology/Black Studies)
Tuire M. Valkeakari, Ph.D. (English/Black Studies)
Comfort Ateh, Ph.D. (Secondary Education/Black Studies)

Associate Professors

Patrick H. Breen, Ph.D. (History/Black Studies)
Trina Vithayathil, Ph.D. (Global Studies/Black Studies)
Eva Wheeler, Ph.D. (Spanish/Black Studies)

Assistant Professors

​Ana Claudia dos Santos Sao Bernardo, Ph.D. (Global Studies/Black Studies)
Matthew J. Dowling, Ph.D. (History/Black Studies)
Rahsaan Mahadeo, Ph.D. (Sociology/Black Studies)
Aishah Scott, Ph.D. (Health Sciences/Black Studies)

Special Lecturers

Danny Kyei-Poakwa, Ph.D.
Tryon Woods, Ph.D.

The Program

The Black Studies Department offers students an interdisciplinary set of analytic and research tools for critical analysis and understanding of various aspects of Black culture and fosters a new appreciation for the contributions made by people of African descent to world cultures and human history.

Black Studies seeks to provide students with clear, precise, reliable, and accurate knowledge about the African Diasporic communities of Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe within the framework of a liberal arts education.

As an academic major and minor, this interdisciplinary and multicultural course of study takes a look at the African Diasporic communities’ contemporary state, history and traditions, unique culture, collective experience, and antecedent connection with Africa and African history.

To that end, teaching, analysis, and research within the program are directed toward the communities’ world view, core beliefs, structures of relationships, patterns of moral and ethical discourse, political thought and action, experience of and response to racism, cultural motifs, and historical foundations, both within the United States and globally.

The Black Studies minor can be paired with many different majors, including sociology, global studies, economics, and political science. Students from a variety of academic majors will find that proficiency in Black studies can expand career options.

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