PhD Black Studies

PhD Black Studies is a place for the study of the history, literature and culture of black people (variously defined) in North America, as well as through their historical, cultural and political links to Africa, Britain, and other global sites.

It is the only programme of its kind in Europe and is steeped in interdisciplinary methods and critical reflection to investigate the roles, lives, cultures, politics, representations, activism, art, histories and movement of people of African descent.

The course is particularly relevant at this crucial time within the UK, as students, communities and institutions of higher education increasingly assess curriculum offerings in dialogue with the ongoing effort to consider the influence and experience of the black diaspora on both sides of the Atlantic.

The PhD programme is closely aligned with the Centre for Black Studies and the Centre for Research in Race and Rights. The University also hosts the Institute for the Institute for the Study of Slavery (ISOS) and the Rights Lab, enabling students to expand their research networks across the university and beyond.

The PhD is based in the Department of American and Canadian Studies, which has a long history of research in black studies, African diaspora studies and African American studies. However, we also welcome comparative research proposals that address issues across disciplines and national boundaries.

You will complete a written thesis of up to 100,000 words. The topic will be agreed with your supervisors (usually two co-supervisors). You also take a verbal examination (viva voce) at the end of your thesis, where you explain your project in depth to an examination panel.

As part of this course, you will attend research training sessions and weekly graduate work-in-progress seminars.

The work-in-progress sessions are led by the research student community. They are an opportunity for everyone to present their ongoing research to their peers, supervisors and invited members of academic staff and research students. The idea is that you receive feedback and support from this community.

Research areas

By its very nature, the Black Studies PhD can cover a wide range of North American and transatlantic topics.

These might include questions of racial systems, class formation, identity, creative expression, political futures, gender, sexuality and sexual expression, resistance, and power from the time of slavery to the era of mass incarceration.

Current Black Studies PhD topics

We are establishing links with universities in the US, such as Columbia University, that we hope will offer international opportunities for exchange and research study.

The department offers:

We also offer a programme of visiting speakers and regular symposia organised by staff and students.

You will be encouraged to organise and attend conferences, act as editors for postgraduate journals, and publish book reviews and articles. Many former students have successfully turned their PhDs into books with major presses including Oxford University Press, Manchester University Press, University of California Press, University of Illinois Press, Routledge and Palgrave.

There are regular opportunities to take part in outreach activities, public talks and departmental events. In addition to serving as Departmental Outreach and Engagement Coordinators and Directors of our LGBT and Black History Month programmes, students are given logistical and financial support in order to run their own conferences and organise a week-long research retreat.

You will also have the opportunity to take on a Postgraduate Director role within the Centre for Research in Race and Rights, as well as the possibility of acting as a research assistant (depending on available hours) within specific research projects connected to the Centre for Research in Race and Rights.

Students may also act as teaching assistants, after appropriate teacher training, within the Department of American and Canadian Studies, or other areas within the university, depending on interest, experience and abilities. Teaching assistants are supported and monitored by module convenors, the Chair of Teaching Committee and the Director of Research within the Department of American and Canadian Studies and the Director of the Black Studies PhD programme.

Expert supervision

We encourage you to get in touch with the Director of Postgraduate Admissions, Dr Christopher Phelps, about your research proposal before submitting an application. They may be able to help you with your proposal and offer support to find funding opportunities in your area.

You will have two supervisors who will provide regular expert supervision and feedback on your progress. At least one supervisor must be a member of staff within the Department of American and Canadian Studies. The second supervisor may be from another department or faculty at the University of Nottingham, or potentially from within the Midlands4Cities consortium.

If you are exploring the option of PhD Black Studies, but have come from another field of study, such as the social sciences, you are still welcome to apply and are advised to contact the director for specifically tailored advice on research opportunities with us. Postgraduates can enter the programme with a range of backgrounds in arts, social science or humanities subject areas. As a research-intensive programme, all applicants are offered the chance to acquire the expected skill sets through coursework, workshops or additional training.