WMST 279 - Black Feminist Thinkers

An interdisciplinary journey into historical and emergent intellectual contributions engendered from navigating, refusing, and subverting systemic gendered oppression. As an homage to the distinct and layered legacy of Black feminist thought, students will learn concepts (i.e., interlocking systems of oppression, misogynoir), methodological tools (i.e., outsider within, blended scripting), and practice/organizing orientations (i.e., interdependence, homegirling). With a focus on contributions from the late 20th and 21st century, students historicize contemporary conversations by tracing conceptual and pragmatic topics back to key historical developments of Black feminist thought. Black feminists have always sought to understand how Black sexualities have been used to maintain gender and racial hierarchies. Such scholarship is the foundation of Queer of Color Critique and Black queer and sexuality studies. At the end of the course, students will have explored and had discussions about counter-hegemonic concepts, practices, and theory at the heart of Black women’s embodiment, labor, and creativity.

Credits: 1.0
Prerequisites: None
Major/Minor Restrictions: None
Class Restriction: None
Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing
Core Component: None

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