Minor in Racism and Antiracism Studies

Through its commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion inside and outside of the classroom as well as its ongoing efforts to combat the systems of anti-Black racism operating in higher education and across the globe, Arcadia University has positioned itself as a powerful force training students to be “curious intellectuals, unafraid to think big and fully prepared to make meaningful contributions in their fields” (“Arcadia Advantage”). This proposed minor in Racism and Antiracism Studies is intended to continue this important work, building upon an ever-evolving combating anti-Black racism curriculum at the University and offering students a program for more intensive study into antiracist advocacy and action.

In the United States, this endeavor is all the more important, as concerted efforts in states nationwide aim to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programming and initiatives, to condemn critical race theory and its focus on systemic/institutional reform, and to limit discourse on the realities of race(ism) that invariably shaped the nation and continue to impact BIPOC communities today. The Racism and Antiracism Studies minor will provide our students opportunities to enhance the education they receive beyond required CABR courses in the Arcadia undergraduate curriculum and to explore the history of race(ism), systems perpetuating a racial status quo, and pathways for reforming the systems and policies that enable inequity, discrimination, and anti-BIPOC violence to persist.

“This minor in Racism and Antiracism Studies is intended to continue to build upon an ever-evolving combating anti-Black racism curriculum at Arcadia and offer students a program for more intensive study into antiracist advocacy and action. In the U.S., this endeavor is all the more important, as concerted efforts in states nationwide aim to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programming and initiatives, to condemn critical race theory and its focus on systemic/institutional reform, and to limit discourse on the realities of race(ism) that invariably shaped the nation and continue to impact BIPOC communities today. The Racism and Antiracism Studies minor will provide our students opportunities to enhance the education they receive beyond required CABR courses in the Arcadia undergraduate curriculum and to explore the history of race(ism), systems perpetuating a racial status quo, and pathways for reforming the systems and policies that enable inequity, discrimination, and anti-BIPOC violence to persist."

Christopher Allen Varlack Executive Director, CASAA; Director, Pan African Studies; Associate Professor

Featured Courses

B(l)ack to the Future–Black Sci-Fi and Speculative Fiction

Explore how an interview in the African-American Review, Nalo Hopkinson asserts that “science fiction has always been a subversive literature” that forces its readers to “think twice and thrice about a whole bunch of things in relation to each other: sexuality, race, class, color, history,” and more. Gain an understanding of the history of this genre Black voice and how Black experiences have been underrepresented. This course aims to delve into literary and cinematic works of Black sci-fi, speculative fiction, and Afrofuturism in order to elevate those voices far too often silenced, erased, and ignored.

Antiracist Children’s Literature

In children's literature, anti-racism can manifest through promoting pathways for antiracist advocacy and action, providing insight into the history of racism and inequity faced by BIPOC peoples, or celebrating cultural diversity by elevating the voices of individua.ls whose stories a.re often lost, erased, or ignored. Through this work, antiracist children's literature can play a.n integral role in social change, not only enlightening younger audiences about the realities of racism but also calling attention to the psychosocial impact on the characters depicted. Though some argue that such literature is divisive and therefore problematic, this course holds that these works can serve as an important starting place in lifelong conversations. In this course, you will read and analyze antiracist children's literature to 1) examine the infusion of antiracist principles and practices in literature, 2) evaluate your historical and socio political contexts, and 3) create your own

Writing for Change–The Path to Publishing on Racism and Social Justice

Explore strategies and methodologies for antiracist advocacy and action.

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