Rethinking the Canon: Self, Others, and Philosophy

How do "philosophies born of struggle" (Leonard Harris) change, disrupt, and advance the discipline of philosophy? Academic philosophers have historically studied a select group of thinkers, most of whom are white men from Europe. European philosophers offer wonderfully rich arguments, but like all perspectives, theirs are partial and limited. To explore foundational philosophical questions, this course will read canonical European philosophers alongside scholars who engage with this canon from a diverse set of cultural, political, and historical contexts, such as indigenous studies, Africana philosophy, Latin American philosophy, postcolonial studies, and feminist theory. Along the way, we will read essays that analyze the concept of “the canon,” and we will consider how different theoretical interventions advance the discipline of philosophy.

To rethink the canon, this course will center on four philosophical questions: 1) What is the self or subjectivity? 2) What is the relationship between self and other? 3) What makes someone a good or virtuous person? 4) How do different linguistic forms (propositional, poetic, narrative) shape our thinking about reality and relationships? For each set of questions, we will pair texts from different historical and cultural contexts. Possible philosophers include Gloria Anzaldúa, Charles Mills, W.E.B Du Bois, Henry Odera Oruka, Kwasi Wiredu, Ofelia Schutte, René Descartes, Kris Sealey, Alain LeRoy Locke, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Frantz Fanon, Maria Lugones, Plato, John Locke, Brian Yazzie Burkhart, Friedrich Nietzsche, Simone de Beauvoir, Winona LaDuke, Judith Butler, Kwame Gyekye, Jean Paul Sartre, Oyèrónké Oyèwùmí, and Kathryn Sophia Belle. Course requirements include four 3-page papers, a presentation, and a final paper.