Worthy of study

A May 19 letter-writer claimed that “black studies” are a “politically correct sop” in colleges and universities. To make this claim, the writer would need significantly more evidence than he demonstrates. In fact, even to make such a claim demonstrates serious ignorance of world history and especially of American history.

I have no personal or even professional stake in the issue: I’m a professor of Classics – about as far from “black studies” as one can get without actually going to Mars. But I know that the field of African and African-American studies is a crucial part of any institution of higher learning. And we at Carolina are fortunate to have a very distinguished department in that field, filled with highly educated, hard-working faculty and students.

To suggest that higher education should simply omit serious and dedicated degree study of the entire continent of Africa and the integral role of African-Americans in the history of the entire continent of the Americas is to imagine this planet as filled only with white people – who are, of course, a racial minority on Earth. The letter-writer should consider taking some courses in African and African-American Studies. An amazing education awaits him.

Sharon L. James

Chapel Hill