The following appeared in Volume 98, Number 1 (Fall, 1998) of the APA Newsletters

Newsletter on Philosophy and the Black Experience

Syllabus - African American Philosophy
Judith Green

African American Philosophy, a "philosophy born of struggle" in Leonard Harris’s phrase, plays a leading role today in the struggle to transform philosophy into a public conversation grounded in specific, non-ideal lived experiences for the purpose of helping American society and differing world cultures to make the choice Martin Luther King, Jr., prophetically delineated: chaos or community? In the mid-nineteenth century, when European and American philosophers began to call for an end to philosophy in the abstract ideal mode that ignores historical location, specific cultural differences, hierarchical social structures of power like race, gender, and class, and the lived challenges of real individuals’ existence, a new approach to philosophy had already begun in narratives written by survivors of American chattel slavery. These narratives and the experience of shared oppression they conveyed into the public sphere gave birth through voices like those of Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth to a new, transformative approach to philosophy that challenged the categories, methods, and conclusions of a traditional philosophical mainstream that arose from ancient Greece, shedding new light on concepts like justice, equality, freedom, resistance, self-respect, and forgiveness. Standing on the shoulders of these gifted and committed thinkers, later generations of African American philosophers have expanded their transformative impact on philosophy, individual consciousness, and public life. Great voices of these inheritor generations include W. E. B. DuBois, pioneering sociologist and founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); Alain Locke, the guiding theorist of the Harlem Renaissance; Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz), articulate mid-century prophets of spiritual, moral, political, and economic transformation; and a new generation of public philosophers like Angela Davis, Cornel West, bell hooks, Bernard Boxill, Howard McGary, Bill Lawson, Leonard Harris, and Lucius Outlaw, all of them calling us toward a multi cultural future of substantive justice, transformative collaboration across great historical divisions, and the realization of mutual understanding and respect amidst our valued diversity. In this course, students will engage with works written by all of these great voices from the African American philosophical tradition, critically evaluate their understandings of the past and their visions of the future, and join them in a public philosophical conversation focused on changing minds, hearts, and the world.

Required Texts

Cornel West, Race matters (New York: Vintage Books, 1994).

Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1995), originally published 1845.

Howard McGary and Bill E. Lawson, Between Slavery and Freedom: Philosophy and American Slavery (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992).

W. E. B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk. (New York: Bantam Books, 1989), originally published 1903.

James M. Washington, ed., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1986).

Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, By Any Means Necessary, George Breitman, ed. (New York: Pathfinder Press, 1970).

Additional required readings on reserve in the library, available to be photocopied.

Optional Texts

John Hope Franklin and Alfred A. Moss, Jr., From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro Americans, Sixth Edition (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988).

Angela Davis, Women, Race & Class (New York: Random House, 1981).

Leonard Harris, ed., The Philosophy of Alain Locke: Harlem Renaissance and Beyond (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1989).

James H. Cone, Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1991).

Course Requirements

Academic Honesty

Academic honesty is the first responsibility of university life. It requires that students do their own work, and that they properly credit the ideas and words of others when they use them in their writing. Appropriate formats for doing so are specified in various style manuals, available in the Library Reference Room. The penalty for any violation of academic honesty will be severe, in accordance with Fordham University rules.

Course Calendar

Students are to read and write in their journals about the following readings by the dates noted, bringing their journals to each class for use in discussion and for collection without notice.

Week One:

W 1/14 When You See Me, What Do You See?

Introduction to the Course: A Philosophy Born of Struggle

R 1/15 Cornel West, Introduction and Chapter 1, "Nihilism in Black America"

Week two:

M 1/19 MARTIN LUTHER KING’S BIRTHDAY OBSERVED—NO CLASS

W 1/21 Cornel West, Ch. 2, "The Pitfalls of Racial Reasoning," & Ch. 2, "The Crisis of Black Leadership"

R 1/22 Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, I-VIII

Optional Reading: Philip S. Foner, ed., "A Tribune of His People," in Frederick Douglass: Selections From His Writings (Library Reserve)

Week Three:

M 1/26 Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, IX - Appendix Angela Davis, "Unfinished Lecture on Liberation—II," in Leonard Harris, ed., Philosophy Born of Struggle: Anthology of Afro-American Philosophy from 1917 (Library Reserve)

W 1/28 Frederick Douglass, "Slavery" and ‘The Civil War," in Philip S. Finer, ed., Frederick Douglass: Selections From His Writings (Library Reserve)

R 1/29 Angela Davis, Ch. 1, "The Legacy of Slavery: Standards for a New Womanhood," Women, Race & Class (Library Reserve)

Howard McGary and Bill E. Lawson, "Philosophy and American Slavery: An Introduction," Between Slavery and Freedom: Philosophy and American Slavery

Optional: Angela Davis, Ch. 2, "The Anti-Slavery Movement and the Birth of Women’s Rights," Women, Race & Class (Library Reserve)

Week Four:

M 2/2 Group Presentations: McGary and Lawson, Ch. 1, "Oppression and Slavery," and Ch. 2, "Paternalism and Slavery," Between Slavery and Freedom: Philosophy and American Slavery

W 2/4 Group Presentations: McGary and Lawson, Ch. 3, "Resistance and Slavery," and Ch. 4, "Citizenship and Slavery," Between Slavery and Freedom: Philosophy and American Slavery

R 2/5 Group Presentation: McGary and Lawson, Ch. 6, "Forgiveness and Slavery." Between Slavery and Freedom: Philosophy and American Slavery

OPTIONAL: McGary and Lawson, Ch. 5, "Moral Discourse and Slavery," Between Slavery and Freedom: Philosophy and American Slavery

Week Five:

M 2/9 Frederick Douglass, "Reconstruction" and "The Democratic Spirit" in Philip S. Finer, ed., Frederick Douglass: Selections From His Writings (Library Reserve) Angela Davis, Ch. 3, "Class and Race in the Early Women’s Rights Campaign," Women, Race & Class (Library Reserve)

Optional: Angela Davis, Ch. 4, "Racism in the Woman Suffrage Movement," Women, Race & Class (Library Reserve)

W 2/11 Broadus N. Butler, "Frederick Douglass: The Black Philosopher in the United States: A Commentary" in Leonard Harris, ed., Philosophy Born of Struggle, and Bernard Boxill,"Two Traditions in African American Political Philosophy" in The Philosophical Forum XXIV: 1-3, Fall-Spring 1992-93 (Library Reserve)

R 2/12 W. E. B. DuBois, Ch. I, "Of Our Spiritual Strivings," and Ch. 11, "Of the Dawn of Freedom" The Souls of Black Folk

Week Six:

M 2/16 PRESIDENTS’ DAY—NO CLASS

T 2/17 MAKE-UP DAY FOR PRESIDENTS’ DAY —MONDAY SCHEDULE W. E. B. Du Bois, Ch. 111, "Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others," The Souls of Black Folk

Booker T. Washington, "The Atlanta Exposition Address," in Fred Lee Hord (Mzee Lasana Okpara) and Jonathan Scott Lee, I Am Because We Are: Readings in Black Philosophy (Library Reserve)

Bernard Boxill, "Self-Respect and Protest," in Leonard Harris, ed., Philosophy Born of Struggle (Library Reserve)

W 2/18 W. E. B. Du Bois, Ch. VI, "Of the Training of Black Men," and Ch. VIII, "Of the Quest of the Golden Heece," The Souls of Black Folk

R 2/19 W. E. B. Du Bois, Ch. IX, "Of the Sons of Master and Man," and Ch. X, "Of the Faith of the Fathers," The Souls of Black Folk

Optional: W. E. B. Du Bois, Ch. XIV, "Of the Sorrow Songs," The Souls of Black Folk

Week Seven:

M 2/23 W. E. B. DuBois, "The Talented Tenth" (1903) and "The Talented Tenth Memorial Address" (1948), in Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Cornel West, The Future of the Race (Library Reserve)

Optional: Angela Davis, Ch. 5, "The Meaning of Emancipation According to Black Women," and Ch. 8, "Black Women and the Club Movement," in Women, Race & Class (Library Reserve)

W 2/25 W. E. B. DuBois, "The Conservation of Races," in Albert G. Mosley, ed., African Philosophy: Selected Readings (Library Reserve)

W. E. B. DuBois, "Does Race Antipathy Serve Any Good Purpose," "On Being Ashamed of Oneself. An Essay on Race Pride," and "The Concept of Race," in Fred Lee Hord (Mzee Lasana Okpara) and Jonathan Scott Lee, I Am Because We Are: Readings in Black Philosophy (Library Reserve)

R 2/26 Judith Green, Ch. 4, "Cosmopolitan Unity Amidst Diversity: Alain Locke’s Transformative Vision of Deep Democracy, Deep Democracy: Community, Diversity, and Transformation (Library Reserve)

Week Eight:

M 3/2 Alain Locke, Lectures 1, 2, and 5 Race Contacts and Interracial Relations (Lib Res)

OPTIONAL: Alain Locke, Lectures 3 and 4, Jeffrey C. Stewart’s Introduction, Race Contacts and Interracial Relations (Library Reserve)

T 3/3 FIRST PAPER DUE: Pillars of African American Philosophy (by 5:00 in JG’s Mailbox @ the Philosophy Department in Collins Hall)

W 3/4 Alain Locke, ed., "The New Negro," in The New Negro (Library Reserve) Alain Locke, "The Contribution of Race to Culture" and "Who and What Is ‘Negro’?" in Leonard Harris, ed., The Philosophy of Alain Locke: Harlem Renaissance and Beyond (Library Reserve)

Optional: Arnold Rampersad’s introduction to The New Negro (Library Reserve)

R 3/5 Alain Locke, Alain Locke, "Pluralism and Intellectual Democracy," "Cultural Relativism and Ideological Peace," and "The Need for a New Organon in Education" in Leonard Harris, ed., The Philosophy of Alain Locke: Harlem Renaissance and Beyond (Library Reserve)

Week Nine:

M 3/9 U. N. Declaration of Human Rights (handout)

Jill Gordon, "By Any Means Necessary: John Locke and Malcolm X on the Right to Revolution," Journal of Social Philosophy XXVI: 1, Spring 1995 (Library Res)

W 3/11 Malcolm X (El-Haj Malik El-Shabazz),"The Founding Rally of the OAAU" and "A Letter from Cairo" in By Any Means Necessary, George Breitman, ed.

R 3/13 Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz), "The Homecoming Rally of the OAAU," "The Young Socialist Interview," and "Short Statements" in By Any Means Necessary, George Breitman, ed.

Optional Reading for Spring Break: Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X (available in many bookstores and libraries)

— SPRING BREAK—

Week Ten:

M 3/23 Two of the following essays from Malcolm X: In Our Own Image, Joe Wood, ed.:

Joe Wood, "Malcolm X and the New Blackness"

Amiri Baraka, "Malcolm as Ideology"

Angela Y. Davis, "Meditations on the Legacy of Malcolm X"

Cornel West, "Malcolm X and Black Rage" (also in Race Matters)

Patricia Hill Collins, "Learning to Think for Ourselves: Malcolm X’s Black Nationalism Reconsidered" (Library Reserve)

W 3/25 Martin Luther King, Jr., "Letter from Birmingham City Jail," "I Have a Dream," and "The Drum Major Instinct" in A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr., James M. Washington, ed.

Optional: Cornel West, "Prophetic Pragmatism: Cultural Criticism and Political Engagement,"The American Evasion of Philosophy: A Genealogy of Pragmatism (Library Reserve)

R 3/26 Judith Green, " Prophetic Pragmatism: King, West, and the Beloved Community," Deep Democracy: Community, Diversity, and Transformation (Library Reserve)

Week Eleven:

M 3/30 Martin Luther King, Jr., Chs. 1 and 2 from Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?, in Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr., James M. Washington, ed.

W 4/1 Martin Luther King, Jr., Chs. 5 and 6 from Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?, in Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr., James M. Washington, ed.

R 4/2 James H. Cone, Chs. 9-12, Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare (Library Reserve)

Optional: Septima Clark, "The Role of Women," Ready from Within: Septima Clark and the Civil Rights Movement (Library Reserve

Week Twelve:

M 4/6 Cornel West and bell hooks, "Black Women and Men: Partnership in the 1990s," in bell hooks, Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics (Library Reserve) bell hooks, "Sisterhood: Political Solidarity Between Women," in Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center (Library Reserve)

Optional: Howard McGary, "Racism, Social Justice, and Interracial Coalitions" Judith Mary Green and Blanche Radford Curry, "Notorious Philosopher: The Transformative Life and Work of Angela Davis," Linda Lopez McAlister, ed., Hypatia’s Daughters: Fifteen Hundred Years of Women Philosophers (Lib Res)

T 4/7 SECOND PAPER DUE: Prophets of African American Philosophy (by 5:00 in JG’s Mailbox @ the Philosophy Department in Collins Hall)

W 4/8 Lucius T. Outlaw (Jr.), Ch. 2, "Philosophy, African Americans, and the Unfinished American Revolution," and Ch. 8, "The Future of ‘Philosophy’ in America," in On Race and Philosophy (Library Reserve)

R 4/9 EASTER RECESS—NO CLASS

Week Thirteen:

M 4/13 EASTER RECESS—NO CLASS

W 4/15 Kwame Anthony Appiah, "The Uncompleted Argument: DuBois and the Illusion of Race," in Albert G. Mosley, ed. African Philosophy: Selected Readings (Li b Res) Tommy L. Lott, "DuBois on the Invention of Race," in The Philosophical Forum XXIV: 1-3, Fall-Spring 1992-93 (Library Reserve)

Optional: Lucius Outlaw, Ch. 6, "Against the Grain of Modernity: The Politics of Difference and the Conservation of "Race’," On Race and Philosophy (Lib Res)

Naomi Back, Ch. 1, "Introduction: Summary, Method, and Structure," and Ch. 15, "Black, White, and Gray: Word, Words, Words," Race and Mixed Race (Lib Res)

K. Anthony Appiah and Amy Gutmann, Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race (Library Reserve)

R 4/16 GROUP PRESENTATION: Justice and Spirituality James H. Cone, Selections from A Theology of Black Liberation (Library Reserve)

Susan Taylor, Selections from In the Spirit (Library Reserve)

National Conference of Catholic Bishops, "Economic Justice for All: Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy" (Library Reserve)

Week Fourteen:

M 4/20 GROUP PRESENTATION: Affirmative Action Bernard Boxill, "The Color-Blind Principle," from Blacks and Social Justice (L R) Shelby Steele, "Affirmative Action: The Price of Preference," from The Content of Our Character: A New Vision of race in America (Library Reserve) Cornel West, "Beyond Affirmative Action: Equality and Identity," Race Matters

W 4/22 GROUP PRESENTATION: Afrocentric vs. Multicultural Education Molefi Kete Asante, ‘The Afrocentric Idea in Education," in Fred Lee Hord (Mzee Lasana Okpara) and Jonathan Scott Lee, eds., I Am Because We Are (Library Res.) Johnnetta B. Cole, "She Who Learns Must Teach," in Conversations: Straight Talk with America’s Sister President (Library Reserve)

Optional: Judith Green, "Multicultural Education, Critical Relativism, and Deep Democracy," in Cynthia Willett, ed., Theorizing Multiculturalism(Library Reserve)

R 4/23 GROUP PRESENTATION: Market vs. Cooperative Economics Thomas Sowell, Selections from Markets and Minorities (Library Reserve)

Bernard Boxill, Selections from Blacks and Social Justice (Library Reserve) Johnnetta B. Cole, "Sturdy Black Bridges," in Conversations: Straight Talk

with America’s Sister President (Library Reserve)

Julius K. Nyerere, "Ujamaa—The Basis of African Socialism," in Fred Lee Hord (Mzee Lasana Okpara) and Jonathan Scott Lee, I Am Because We Are: Readings in Black Philosophy (Library Reserve)

Week Fifteen:

M 4/27 GROUP PRESENTATION: African American Culture and the Arts Toni Morrison, Selections from Playing in the Dark-: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination (Library Reserve) Tricia Rose, Selections from Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America (Library Reserve)

W 4/28 LAST CLASS: The Future of the Race

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., "The Parable of the Talents," and Cornel West, "Black Strivings in a Twilight Civilization," The Future of the Race (Library Reserve)

FINAL EXAM SCHEDULED W 5/6 @ 1:30 - "African American Philosophy: Present & Future"

Table of Contents

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