Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies Concentration
The new Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies concentration at Queensborough is part of a larger effort within the City University of New York (CUNY) to develop programs that advance racial and social justice. In the summer of 2020, CUNY received a $10 million gift from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to drive change across all 25 colleges and schools, with $3 million dedicated toward the Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies Initiative (BRESI), a historic initiative that seeks to reimagine and further develop Black, Race and Ethnic Studies throughout CUNY.
Housed with the English Department, Queensborough faculty members have collaborated to develop courses in this concentration that will expose students to the history, culture, and lived experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) to lay a foundation of knowledge that advances racial and social justice.
Courses Offered:
Introduction to Black, Race, & Ethnic Studies (INTE 219 – G2 (31771)
This interdisciplinary course will introduce students to the histories, literature, culture, and lived experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) as they navigate the institutional and social structures that help them strive and keep them oppressed. The course builds cultural competency and instructs students to explore how settler colonialism, imperialist capitalism, and other contemporary and historical inequities impede social justice. The course investigates the roots of racism, the construction of whiteness, and the perpetuation of anti-blackness. Further, it celebrates the hard-won victories that have helped to advance racial and ethnic diplomacy and ethnic joy.