The Americas have yet to work through the damaging legacy of European colonization, and the deleterious consequences of the European colonizers’ attempt to dominate or eliminate the different cultural groups with whom they came into contact. This seminar will attempt to confront this legacy by listening to some of the voices that colonizers had sought to silence. In particular, we will consider the work of prominent Black, Indigenous, and Latin American thinkers as they engage Western thought on the question of what it means to be human. The scholarly exchange between these voices and the Western tradition has resulted in an interdisciplinary array of literature that documents the diverse ways in which racialized and marginalized thinkers seek to broaden the human definition beyond the narrow confines set by the assumption of White supremacy. We will listen to these developing philosophical anthropologies as they seek to integrate specific histories of domination and oppression with alternative conceptions of what it means to be human. In doing so, we will also pay particular attention to the role that religious discourses have and continue to play in both the establishment and criticism of White supremacy. This course will provide a survey into such literature, allowing students to dialogue with texts by racialized and minority voices, and empower them to reflect on the effects of European colonization, systemic racism, and white supremacy in the philosophical tradition in which they are apprentices.
Dr. Ron Kuipers
ICS 2400AC W22
Remote (Online Synchronous)
Thursdays, 10am - 1pm ET
(MA, PhD)
Enrolment Notes:
To register for this course, email academic-registrar@icscanada.edu. Last date to register January 14, 2022. Maximum enrolment of nine (9) students. ICS reserves the right to decline registrations.
*Attention TST students: if you are interested in taking this course for credit, you must petition your college of registration to count the course credit toward your degree program.
