Professor Kilson Cites Dilettantism In Black Studies

"It is imperative that the academic organization of Afro-American studies as an undergraduate major ward against dilettantism." Martin L. Kilson. professor of Government, said in a recent pamphlet published by the A Philip Randolph Educational Fund.

"This can be achieved most effectively by requiring students who major in Afro-American studies to fulfill a good part of the academic requirements in an established discipline like Economics or Sociology, while simultaneously pursuing a specialized course in Afro-American studies," he said.

Scores Militant Views

Kilson scored the views of militant advocates of black studies-those who think these studies should be organized to serve explicit ideological ends-as "harmful to both black Americans and black studies... and a great disservice to American higher education."

Afro-American studies should instead be an objective, self-detached inquiry, a searching out and sifting of the historical facts that have grown out of race relationships, Kilson said.

This field should be open to any students, black or white, with "a serious appreciation of the humanities and social sciences, and a special interest in Afro-American studies." he said.