Academic Calendar - 2026
Western University Academic Calendar. - 2026
Black Studies
An introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Black Studies that examines its foundations and debates, focusing on resilience and resistance in Black life. Students will examine practices used within this Black intellectual-activist tradition through various disciplinary approaches and by situating contemporary topics (identity, fashion, sexuality) within historical frameworks.
Antirequisite(s): The former GSWS 1030F/G.
Extra Information: 2 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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Black popular culture is concerned with pleasure, enjoyment, and amusement and is expressed through aesthetic codes and genres. Drawing on literature, film, music, visual art, and television, this course examines examples of popular culture created by and for Black individuals to consider Black cultural values, beliefs, experiences, and social institutions.
Antirequisite(s): The former GSWS 2168A/B.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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Coined in 1994 by Mark Dery, the term Afrofuturism refers to a Black aesthetic centred around imagining futures for Black people. Students will encounter Black writers, musicians, artists, and filmmakers, from Octavia Butler to Sun Ra to Janelle Monae to Jordan Peele, whose work envisages Black futures.
Antirequisite(s): The former GSWS 2170A/B.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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This interdisciplinary course is a historical and thematic examination of Black life across the diaspora. Students will examine the cultural practices of African communities’ pre-colonial contact as well as the ongoing impact of Atlantic enslavement on Black diasporic communities today. Specific content will vary year-to-year depending on the instructor.
Antirequisite(s): The former GSWS 2230F/G.
Pre-or Corequisite(s): Black Studies 1030F/G or the former GSWS 1030F/G; one of GSWS 1021F/G, GSWS 1022F/G, GSWS 1024F/G, the former GSWS 1023F/G, or any first-year essay course in Arts and Humanities, Social Science, or Media and Communication Studies.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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Selected topics in Black Studies. Consult the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies for current offerings.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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Selected topics in Black Studies. Consult the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies for current offerings.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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Selected topics in Black Studies. Consult the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies for current offerings.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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Selected topics in Black Studies. Consult the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies for current offerings.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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Selected topics in Black Studies. Consult the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies for current offerings.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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Selected topics in Black Studies. Consult the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies for current offerings.
Pre-or Corequisite(s): Black Studies 1030F/G or the former GSWS 1030F/G; one of GSWS 1021F/G, GSWS 1022F/G, GSWS 1024F/G, the former GSWS 1023F/G, or any first-year essay course in Arts and Humanities, Social Science, or Media and Communication Studies.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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Topics of current interest in Black Studies. Consult the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies for current offerings.
Pre-or Corequisite(s): Black Studies 1030F/G or the former GSWS 1030F/G; one of GSWS 1021F/G, GSWS 1022F/G, GSWS 1024F/G, the former GSWS 1023F/G, or any first-year essay course in Arts and Humanities, Social Science, or Media and Communication Studies.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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Topics of current interest in Black Studies. Consult the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies for current offerings.
Pre-or Corequisite(s): Black Studies 1030F/G or the former GSWS 1030F/G; one of GSWS 1021F/G, GSWS 1022F/G, GSWS 1024F/G, the former GSWS 1023F/G, or any first-year essay course in Arts and Humanities, Social Science, or Media and Communication Studies.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 1.00
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In 2013, #BlackLivesMatter was founded following the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s killer. In Canada, #BLM chapters have built close ties with Indigenous and queer activists to work together to confront and challenge bigotry and colonization. This course will consider how Black, Indigenous, and queer activists create solidarity and pursue change.
Pre-or Corequisite(s): Black Studies 2230F/G or GSWS 2231F/G or the former GSWS 2230F/G or permission of the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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This course focuses on how Black Canadians actively shaped their history and Canada’s history. In addition to enslavement, segregation and white supremacy, gender and sexuality, the long civil rights movement, and the rise of the prison-industrial complex, the course considers how the past continues to affect Black Canadians today.
Pre-or Corequisite(s): Black Studies 2230F/G or GSWS 2231F/G or the former GSWS 2230F/G or permission of the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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Drawing on Black feminism, queer theories, and Black Studies, this course examines questions of health, risk, and care. Students consider how Black people have been depicted as non-human and vectors of disease. Topics may include politics of blood donation, Blackness and fatphobia, anti-Black racism and pandemics, sexual risk and pleasure.
Antirequisite(s): GSWS 3315F/G if taken in 2022-23.
Pre-or Corequisite(s): Black Studies 1030F/G or the former GSWS 1030F/G; one of GSWS 1021F/G, GSWS 1022F/G, GSWS 1024F/G, the former GSWS 1023F/G, or any first-year essay course in Arts and Humanities, Social Science, or Media and Communication Studies.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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Black Studies 3404F/G READING BLACK LIVES: BIOGRAPHY AND AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN BLACK NORTH AMERICAN HISTORY
This course examines the histories of people of African descent in the United States and Canada from the earliest days of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade to the present, through biographies and autobiographies. It explores such themes as agency, resistance, intersectionality, identity, freedom, and creativity.
Antirequisite(s): History 3340F/G, the former GSWS 3340F/G.
Extra Information: 3 hours. Cross-listed with History 3340F/G.
Course Weight: 0.50
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This course examines intellectual movements that have been developed by Black peoples, who are ethnically diverse and call a variety of locations home. The course may consider the Black Atlantic Tradition, Black internationalism, Black Feminist Thought, African American Secularism, and/or Black Power. Content will vary year-to-year depending on the instructor.
Pre-or Corequisite(s): Black Studies 2230F/G or GSWS 2231F/G or the former GSWS 2230F/G or permission of the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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This course draws on Black feminist and queer theories to explore the lives of Black queer and trans folx. Students will engage primary sources such as letters, autobiographies, and films to trouble narratives that obscure the contributions of Black queer and trans people within Black liberation and LGBT+ rights movements.
Pre-or Corequisite(s): Black Studies 2230F/G or GSWS 2231F/G or the former GSWS 2230F/G or permission of the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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Selected topics in Black Studies. Consult the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies for current offerings.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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Selected topics in Black Studies. Consult the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies for current offerings.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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An advanced seminar in topics of current interest in Black Studies. Consult the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies for current offerings.
Pre-or Corequisite(s): Black Studies 2230F/G or GSWS 2231F/G or the former GSWS 2230F/G or permission of the department.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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An advanced seminar in topics of current interest in Black Studies. Consult the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies for current offerings.
Pre-or Corequisite(s): Black Studies 2230F/G or GSWS 2231F/G or the former GSWS 2230F/G or permission of the department.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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An advanced seminar in topics of current interest in Black Studies. Consult the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies for current offerings.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 1.00
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An advanced seminar in topics of current interest in Black Studies. Consult the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies for current offerings.
Pre-or Corequisite(s): Black Studies 2230F/G or GSWS 2231F/G or the former GSWS 2230F/G or permission of the department.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 1.00
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An advanced seminar on issues connected to Black Studies. Consult the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies for current offerings.
Pre-or Corequisite(s): Black Studies 2230F/G or GSWS 2231F/G or the former GSWS 2230F/G or permission of the department.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
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An advanced seminar on issues connected to Black Studies. Consult the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies for current offerings.
Extra Information: 3 hours.
Course Weight: 0.50
Return to top
An advanced seminar focusing on an intellectual movement that has been developed by Black peoples. The course may consider the Black Atlantic Tradition, Black internationalism, Black Feminist Thought, African American Secularism, Black Power, or the Black Arts movement, among other topics. Content will vary year-to-year depending on the instructor.
Pre-or Corequisite(s): Black Studies 2230F/G or GSWS 2231F/G or the former GSWS 2230F/G or permission of the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies.
Extra Information: 3 hours.