W.G. Pearson believes everyone should be able to see themselves represented in areas of study at university. That was part of the impetus for the creation of Western's new Black studies major through the department of gender, sexuality and women's studies, which will launch this fall.
"One of the things we're trying to do in the program is balance history with contemporary challenges - shine a light on the past, but also teach about the contemporary joys, pleasures, achievements and successes of Black people," said Pearson, chair of the department of gender, sexuality, and women's studies.
Black studies, introduced at Western in 2022 as a minor, will be offered as a major starting in September 2025. A Black studies organizing committee, including faculty and students from arts and humanities, information and media studies and social science, helped develop both programs. They align with Western's commitment to create an inclusive campus and the priorities of the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
With more than 50 courses on offer, flexibility is intentionally built into the Black studies major to encourage students to engage with multiple faculties and departments, from history to music to sociology, to suit their interests and passions.
A mandatory first-year Introduction to Black Studies course is taught by Erica Lawson, professor of gender sexuality and women's studies. The major offers enough flexibility to allow students to incorporate Black studies as a double major alongside another program, if they choose.
"There are many different ways you could approach it so students can follow their interests," said Pearson. "There also may be students who want to understand their own community better or gain insight on one they don't know as well."
Understanding Black sense of place
One of the newest courses offered as part of the Black studies major is Black Geographies. Taught by professor Cornel Grey, the second-year course explores Black life in regions across Ontario and pushes students to think about the concept of Black sense of place' and the interaction between space, place, movement, identity, culture and history.
"Our intention is to start locally and then help students to think outward," said Grey. "What I'd like students to think about is if we started with race or Blackness as a point of departure, how does the story we tell ourselves about a place like London shift or change? And how can we connect that to more contemporary movements taking place in Ontario and across Canada more broadly?"
The course is a unique collaboration between a group of faculty members at York, Wilfrid Laurier, Windsor and Western. It integrates cross-institutional teaching to allow students at each university to hear from faculty and community members in different areas of the province.
"There are also opportunities to link across space and make comparisons between what Black life looks like in a major urban centre like Toronto versus somewhere like London," said Grey. "Students will have a chance to think about how these histories and relationships play out in different locales in Canada."
The course launched at Western and York this winter, and students at both institutions will have the opportunity to conduct independent research that draws on their local landscapes.
Western students will work with a collection of The Dawn of Tomorrow, a Black Canadian newspaper published in London, Ont. from 1923 to 2013, and will explore the downtown landscape for examples of how Black history has been preserved. For example, students will have the opportunity to listen to recordings from the Hear Here London project, led by history professor Michelle Hamilton.
"It's very exciting that we get to call on the wonderful expertise of colleagues who are doing research in this area here at Western and at other universities as well," said Grey.
