DePaul University To Explore Black Experience From Theoretical Perspective This Fall

Imagine analyzing and discussing how Black Girl Magic shows up in science and society with professors and classmates.

This scenario will be a reality for students enrolled in courses at DePaul University in the fall of 2023.

The courses will focus on the link between Black Girl Magic, science, and white supremacy, according to The College Fix. Courses will be offered through the university’s interdisciplinary Department of African and Black Diaspora Studies (ABD).

The College Fix reported some of the course titles to include “Race and Racism,” “Black Women Experiences,” “Race, Science, and White Supremacy,” and “Black Feminist Theory.”

None of the professors listed on the course syllabi commented on their classes for the upcoming semester.

Although, course descriptions provide insight into the type of content that will be covered. For example, The College Fix reported that the course “Black Women Experiences” will “explore varying topics from Black Girl Magic to Black women’s pain and trauma.” The system will examine “representations of Blackness in popular culture, social media, literature, and fine art.” Furthermore, the platform reported that students will engage in critical thinking and “question how Black women and femmes survive in cultures that seek to erase them, exploit their labor, and silence their voices.”

DePaul University’s ABD goal is to encourage “students to explore the Black experience from a variety of theoretical and disciplinary perspectives including but not limited to historical, artistic, sociological, anthropological, and philosophical approaches,” its website notes.

Gabrielle Howard, a student from the class of 2017, said, according to the ABD department’s website, “The ABD major opened my eyes to many of the circumstances locally, nationally, and globally that affect not only the African American community but all parts of the African and Black Diaspora.”

The College Fix said other courses would look at “dynamic connections between stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, and privilege,” the development of racial hierarchies, and the dominance of white supremacy in science.