Names and Notions of Black Studies

The principle purpose of this article is to bring under critical reflection some of the central issues surrounding and informing current and continuing notions of Black Studies and the ongoing concerns about its appropriate naming. It is a fundamental assumption of this article that the various notions and names of Black Studies are anchored in and reflective of differing concepts of the roots, range, and relevance of the discipline. The issue of roots has to do with the conception of the primary rootedness of the discipline in the African American initiative and experience and the Black Freedom Movement and its emancipatory thrust. The issue of range involves varied positions on the reach and inclusiveness of the discipline in terms of African peoples and its self-conception as a pan-African project. Finally, the issue of relevance raises questions of the intellectual value and viability of the African American initiative and experience as a self-standing discipline in the academy, as distinct from a dependent program or one area of emphasis within a regional study of African peoples—that is, Diasporan or Atlantic Studies—and its marketability as an area of competence.