STORRS, Conn.
Students at the state’s flagship university will be able to earn degrees in the study of Black history and culture starting this fall if a state board approves the school’s plans.
The University of Connecticut is asking the state Board of Higher Education to approve an interdisciplinary major it will call African-American Studies.
Ten UConn professors will teach topics ranging from politics and psychology to the roots jazz, the impacts of racism and the culture and history of Black Americans. The university’s board of trustees approved the program at its meeting last month.
UConn students currently can minor in African-American studies or build their own individualized major at state universities. However, Wesleyan and Yale are the only Connecticut universities that offer majors in the field.
“It’s conspicuous that there is no African-American studies major at any public university in Connecticut,” said Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar, a UConn history professor who also is director of its Institute for African-American Studies.
“I really think it’s important because the university is positioning itself as a national or international university with a reputation that extends beyond Connecticut,” he said.
