New Black studies minor includes journalism courses

The university plans to offer a new minor in Black studies starting next fall, and two journalism courses will be included in the minor’s course list.

The School of Journalism’s JRN 319: Reporting on Race: Black Canadians and the Media is available to journalism students, and NNS 333: Covering Race is available to students not in the journalism program to take toward the minor.

The minor will be a part of the Faculty of Arts and include courses from 13 departments and schools across the university. Featured courses will explore the histories and cultures of Black diasporas, the ideologies of anti-Black racism and themes of Black resistance, oppression and exploitation, among other topics. 

Another goal of the minor is to build community between Black students and to help them connect with a community of Black scholars.

Eternity Martis, award-winning journalist and author of They Said This Would Be Fun: Race, Campus Life, and Growing Up, is the course developer and instructor of Reporting on Race. The course was first offered in the winter 2021 semester after graduates Breanna Xavier-Carter, Tiffany Mongu, Rosemary Akpan and Sara Jabakhanji called on the university to incorporate a new Black Canadian reporting course in its journalism curriculum.

The Reporting on Race course looks at how the media contributes and reflects racism affecting Black communities in Canada today, and teaches students how to ensure that they bring an anti-bias perspective to their reporting. 

"I'm really excited that the School of Journalism can contribute to the Black studies minor,” says Asmaa Malik, co-interim chair and associate professor at the School of Journalism. “I hope it's just the beginning of a larger initiative."

Malik was involved in discussions last year about including the journalism courses in the minor. The discussions revolved around how to make the course more inclusive to students who aren't in the journalism program, such as how to balance practical reporting strategies and approaches that journalism students need with analysis and looking at traditional media coverage of Black communities and individuals. 

Moving forward, she hopes to see more students interested in the course, especially students outside of the journalism program. “I think this will really open up an opportunity for more students to actually learn more about what we do in journalism,” she says.