Spring Reading Group: African American Philosophy as African American Studies, beginning January 19, 2022

Spring Reading Group and CyberSeminar

The AIPCT is pleased to announce that this years’ Spring reading group will be a survey of will be a survey of “African American Philosophy as African American Studies,” led by Anthony Sean Neal, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Mississippi State University.

Sessions will begin at 7 PM central time (US) on Wednesday evenings.

Readings: All readings, including portions of Dr. Neal’s own work (some published and some not yet published), will be provided free. Pdfs will be posted online as the seminar proceeds. There is no fee for materials or for the seminars themselves.

To participate please send an e-mail to: personalist61@gmail.com

Seminar Leader

Anthony Sean Neal is an Associate Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy and Religion and a Faculty Fellow in the Shackouls Honors College of Mississippi State University. He is a 2019 inductee into the Morehouse College Collegium of Scholars. Dr. Neal received his doctorate in Humanities from Clark Atlanta University. He also received his Master of Divinity degree from Mercer University and a Bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College. Dr. Neal is the author of two books, Common Ground: A Comparison of the Idea of Consciousness in the Writings of Howard Thurman and Huey Newton (Africa World Press, 2015). The second is entitled, Howard Thurman’s Philosophical Mysticism: Love Against Fragmentation (Lexington, 2019).

Topics and Reading Schedule

Jan 19: Toward a Philosophy of African American Studies…What Value is Philosophy for African American Studies?
Philosophy of African American Studies, Stephen C. Ferguson, II, pp. 1-14.

Jan 26: Is it Legitimate to Study African Americans and the Experience of Being Black? Legitimacy and Necessity
Handout: “The Legitimacy and Necessity of Black Philosophy”: Some Preliminary Considerations, William R. Jones

February 2: Can Axiology, in General, and Aesthetics, in Particular, Serve as a Starting Point from which to Launch a Reflective Discussion upon Who is African American and What is Blackness?
handout: “Freedom Gaze,” Anthony Sean Neal

February 9: When are African Americans? How Time and Place Matter to the Experience of Blackness
Handout: “Modern Era,” Anthony Sean Neal

February 16: Philosophy of History as a Fundamental Activity of African American Studies?
Philosophy of African American Studies, Stephen C. Ferguson, II, pp. 15-57

February 23: Epistemology as Means to Truth in African American Studies
Philosophy of African American Studies, Stephen C. Ferguson, II pp. 159-193

March 2: On the Question of Canon (handout)

March 9: Content/Context Dialectic handout: John H. McClendon, III

March 23: Afrocentricity? (Attention is required by any existing ideas in a field)
Philosophy of African American Studies, Stephen C. Ferguson, II, pp. 59-97

March 30: Africa: The Mystic Spell (handout)

April 6: Reparations (handout)

April 13: God/Religion/Christianity (handout)

April 20: Affirmation/Negation handout, Proximal vs. Distal

One Comment

  1. sounds like an exciting group of texts and thinkers! would you consider including Calvin Warren’s “Ontological Terror”? Its really had an impact on my thinking!

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