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Black Diaspora Studies Minor

Travel through history, literature, and culture to build a clearer understanding of African and African American experiences in this wide-ranging minor.

College of Arts & Sciences | On-Campus

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What You'll Learn

Drake University’s Black Diaspora Studies minor examines the cultures, stories, and experiences of continental African nations and their people as well as African descendants around the world. Build your critical thinking skills by analyzing definitions, constructions, and representations of Black identity in various disciplines, cultures, and media forms.

This interdisciplinary program incorporates electives in anthropology and sociology, history, literature, music, and political science. Specific classes cover topics such as Africa, Africans & Atlantic Slavery, African American Literature, History of Jazz, African American Politics, Inequality & Public Health, and Civil War & Reconstruction.

About Black Diaspora Studies at Drake

  • Focus on regions including Africa, the Caribbean, the U.S., and Latin America
  • Prepare for graduate-level work in African American or African Diaspora Studies
  • Pursue an optional independent study project with a faculty mentor

Program Facts

  • 120 total credits; 18 credits for the minor
  • On campus
  • Full-time or part-time
  • 2 years to completion

Program Options

Unlock intercultural understanding, community building, and critical thinking skills through this minor.

Black Diaspora Studies Minor

In addition to courses like Africa in World History, African American Literature, and African American History, you will select three electives from a variety of topics. Courses for this minor examine Black identity in memoirs, fictional writing, historical texts, anthropological studies, films, and music.

Meet the Faculty

One of the greatest strengths of Drake’s Black Diaspora Studies minor is its breadth: classes draw on faculty from over six different departments. As a result, you’ll have a chance to develop relationships with experts who may be far outside your major.

Melisa Klimaszewski

Melisa Klimaszewski

Professor, English

Glenn McKnight

Glenn McKnight

Associate Professor, History

Makhmouth Dia

Makhmouth Dia

Adjunct Professor, French

All Faculty Members

Outside the Classroom

Your classes in the Black Diaspora Studies program will enhance the way you see the world. Bring those lessons to life through Drake’s wealth of experiential opportunities.

A student in Drake's Black Diaspora Studies program outlines their research study onto a clear writing wall

Research and Independent Study

You’ll have the option to conduct an independent study on a Black Diaspora Studies topic of your choice. This in-depth research project will include intense, supportive one-on-one faculty mentorship.

All Student Projects

Students in Drake's Black Diaspora Studies program prepare for a service learning project that will involve markers and colored paper

Service Learning

At Drake, we don’t just study our communities—we strive to improve them. Our students and faculty contribute 230,000 hours of service a year, from easing food insecurity near campus to participating in Ugandan public health efforts.

A student from Drake's Black Diaspora Studies program speaks to a faculty member about internship placements

Internships

In this minor, you’ll build critical thinking and analytical skills you can put to work right away, right here in Des Moines: in 2023, 93% of students reported having an internship or another practical experience.

Careers & Skills

The Black Diaspora Studies program is open to students in any major—and our graduates pursue careers in a similarly expansive array of fields. The courses you take will give you the kind of intercultural, multicultural, and global studies expertise that enhance any degree.

Opportunities

  • Public policy
  • Graduate school
  • Writing and journalism
  • Teaching
  • Social services
  • Community outreach and activism
  • Museums
  • Human resources

Skills

  • Historical knowledge of Africa and the African diaspora
  • Multicultural expertise in Black Studies and Black History
  • Academic research practices
  • Critical thinking and writing skills
  • Intercultural communication experience
  • An understanding of continental African and African American experiences today
A student from Drake's Black Diaspora Studies program crosses their arms while sitting in a library

Salary & Growth Outlook

$

Median salary for social and community service managers in 2024. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Student Testimonials

As a student at Drake, Shameka Brown (AS’20) worked in the Des Moines region to help high school and college students advocate for themselves in regard to social issues affecting their communities. Her interest started with easing educational inequalities—and continues to this day in a leadership role for low-income young women and young women of color in Atlanta. “As I got older, I became more involved in addressing issues regarding the lack of educational opportunities and the correct representation for Black and Brown youth. I came to understand how low educational achievement could lead to lowered economic prospects later in life, perpetuating a lack of social mobility.”

Aanika Pfister graduated in December of 2023 with a major in Writing and minors in Black Diaspora Studies and Rhetoric, Media, and Social Change. Her multicultural background and Chicagoan roots inspire her poetry, which focuses on understanding how the stories of under-represented people are told in our world.

Related Programs

Understanding our complex world requires a broad perspective. In these minors, open to students of any major, interdisciplinary study helps you develop intersectional knowledge.

Women’s and Gender Studies, Concentration

Gender is ingrained in almost every aspect of our lives. Women’s and Gender Studies examines how gender shapes social roles, identities, and access to power.

Interdisciplinary Study of the Humanities and Sciences, Concentration

Math and philosophy. Art and religion. Everything is connected; in this concentration, you’ll discover, analyze, and discuss the links.

Latin American Studies, Minor

Add another dimension to your major by exploring the cultures, history, languages, politics, and artistic output of Latin America. Some courses even fulfill your AOI requirements.

Take the Next Step

Enhance your global citizenship by building a rich understanding of African and African American experiences, Black identity, and Black history from antiquity to the present day.

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Students from Drake's Black Diaspora Studies program walk below cherry blossom trees outdoors