Black Feminist Thought

Catalog description

Black Feminist Thought introduces students to the major concepts, debates, and theoretical perspectives in the discipline of black feminist studies in the United States, as well as to corresponding pro-woman stances made by black women who identify as something other than feminist. We will also examine the evolution of black feminist thinking in the U.S. and map generational distinctions. Special attention will be given to the ways black women combat and critique stereotypical constructions and images of black womanhood and define feminism in relation to prescribed notions of race and gender. To that aim, students will examine issues central to the experiences of black women (cis, queer and trans) such as activism, equality in the workplace, beauty hierarchies, female friendships, sexual agency, sexual intimacies, medical apartheid, representations of black women in popular culture, and violence against women.