Self-Assessment

I never expected that I would major in Black Studies when I left UCSB. As it stands, I will graduate with a double major in Statistical Science and Black Studies. During the spring quarter of my freshman year, I took Black Studies 5 with Professor McAuley since it fulfilled two General Education requirements.  Professor McAuley really impressed me with his detailed critiques of American society during the antebellum period while having the ability to encourage discussion and invite criticism of his ideas. I really enjoyed how we looked at the political and economic motivations that established and maintained slavery. I took my next Black Studies class with Professor McAuley as well, which was Black Studies 100: Africa/U.S. Policy during the winter quarter of my second year. I still was not a major at this point, but this was the best class I have taken at UCSB.  I was surprised with how little we are taught about Africa in high school, I knew almost nothing about African history. US intervention has a played a central role in the development of African politics so that nationalistic movements have not been able to achieve their goals.  I really began to see how political decisions that affected the lives of millions of ordinary people were made in the interests of a select few.

After this class, I began to strongly consider majoring in Black Studies. After taking Black Studies 7 and 104 with McAuley, I took Professor Johnson’s Black Studies 1 class during Fall quarter of my senior year. The class was incredible and I added my major in Black Studies midway through the quarter. She helped me view black studies as a critical social theory and I liked how her class focused on contemporary displays of institutional racism. Also I really enjoyed reading the Autobiography of Malcolm X and learning about what he actually stood for. I also took Black Studies 4: A Critical introduction to Race and Racism with Dr. Johnson. One of the books we had to read was the Possessive Investment in Whiteness by Professor George Lipsitz. The book elaborated on this concept of white privilege and it illustrated the large disparities in wealth between whites and people of color.

I have also taken classes with Professor Earl Stewart and Dr. Jude Akudinobi. I learned quite a bit about the blues genre from Professor Stewart and I have begun to appreciate the songs that R&B artists have released. Professor Akudinobi taught Black Studies 126: Comparative Black Literature, where we discussed how these authors had a distinct perspective on the black experience in different countries.

I have learned so many things as Black Studies Major, yet there are so many things I still want to know. As a Black Studies major, you have to be open to learning and understanding new perspectives and I still have a lot of work to do.