The World We Share: An Encounter Between a Continental Philosopher and Five Africana Thinkers

Catalog description

What is “this world” we inhabit and share with others? Who are “we” in the name of whom “the world” is questioned and its apocalyptic end announced? Who are “they” — friends, neighbors, strangers, enemies, animate and inanimate beings — with whom the world is shared? To explore these questions, the course stages an encounter between French philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy, who wrote at the radical edge of continental philosophy and critical theory, and Black radical thinkers Ta-Nehisi Coates, Achille Mbembe, Toni Morrison, Christina Sharpe, and Olúfémi Táíwò, whose works reflect upon concrete and inherited experiences of colonization, slavery, and forced modernization. Through class discussions and assignments, participants will practice close readings of relatively short, selected texts drawn from the reading materials. There are no prerequisites; some experience in continental philosophy, postcolonial theory, and African American studies is recommended.