Program: Black Studies Minor - University of Southern Mississippi

Mar 29, 2025

2024-2025 Undergraduate Bulletin

The aim of the minor is to engage students in the center and increase their knowledge, involvement, and critical awareness of race in the human experience.

Academic Policies and Requirements for Minors:

See University Academic Policies for Minors
Approved courses are classified into three broad areas. Students are required to complete two courses from area 1, three courses from area 2, and one course from area 3. The courses in area 2 should be selected based on their relevance to the student’s major or career goals. Students must include courses from at least three separate disciplines in their minor. Up to six hours of credit may be double-counted as coursework for the student’s major.

Hours to Minor: 18 hours

Course Requirements

Area 1. Historical Foundations (6 hours)

BLKS 301 - Introduction to Black Studies 3 hrs.

Select one:

Area 2. Black Studies Across the Disciplines (9 hours)

ANT 313 - Peoples and Cultures of Africa 3 hrs.
ANT 334 - Archaeology of the Old South 3 hrs.
ANT 494 - Topics in Caribbean Anthropology 4 hrs.
BLKS 450 - Seminar in Black Studies 3 hrs.
BLKS 495 - Domestic Study in Black Life and Culture 3 hrs.
BLKS 499 - Study Abroad in Black Studies 3 hrs.
ENG 312 - Postcolonial Literature 3 hrs.
ENG 313 - Survey of Multiethnic Literature 3 hrs.
ENG 372 - African-American Literature 3 hrs.
ENG 410 - Studies in Ethnic Literature 3 hrs.
ENG 411 - Studies in Postcolonial Literature 3 hrs.
ENG 412 - Studies in African Literature 3 hrs.
ENG 473 - Studies in African-American Literature 3 hrs.
ENG 496 - Caribbean Studies 3-6 hrs.
GHY 402 - Geography of Middle America and the Caribbean 3 hrs.
HIS 411 - The Caribbean 3 hrs.
HIS 445 - Racial Thought in the Western World 3 hrs.
HIS 467 - The Colonial South 3 hrs.
HIS 468 - The Old South 3 hrs.
HIS 478 - Topics in African-American History 3 hrs.
HIS 498 - Topics in Caribbean Studies 3-4 hrs.
MCJ 355 - Gender, Race and Media 3 hrs.
PS 303 - American Political Movements 3 hrs.
PS 402 - Urban Politics 3 hrs.
PS 459 - Human Rights 3 hrs.
PSY 413 - Multicultural Counseling 3 hrs.
SWK 315 - Human Diversity in a Changing World 3 hrs.
SOC 350 - Race and Ethnicity 3 hrs.
SOC 355 - Collective Behavior and Social Movements 3 hrs.

Note:

Other courses may be substituted at the discretion of the director or associate director of the Center for Black Studies.

Area 3. Application of Knowledge (3 hours)

All students minoring in black studies will fulfill a three-hour requirement that incorporates application of material learned in classes. The content of the class will involve active learning in one of two ways: working with a local agency, institution or business related to the broad field of black studies or an academic service-learning project in which the student utilizes his or her expertise to provide a service to the local community and create an academic product that reflects his or her effort.

Students must complete a minimum of three courses in black studies before fulfilling the area 3 requirement.

Seelct 1 course:

BLKS 490 - Directed Research in Black Studies 3 hrs. or
BLKS 491 - Service Learning in Black Studies 3 hrs.

Note:

If a student is enrolled in another course that requires a substantial and relevant internship, academic service-learning project or research endeavor, he or she may petition the director of the Center for Black Studies to count that course for the area 3 requirement.