PHIL 274.001 – Race, Racism, and Social Justice: African-American Political Philosophy

Instructor: Raye Ploeger. This course meets MTWRF 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. via remote synchronous (RS) instruction.

In this course, students will learn to take a philosophical approach to the topics of race, racism, and social justice. We will read the work of select historical and contemporary African-American philosophers and political thinkers. We will interpret, apply, and critically engage with the work of these figures, taking up questions about the nature of race and racism (e.g., What is race? What is racism? What is the relationship between race and gender, class, and other axes of oppression?) and the future of race and racism (e.g., Is there a place for race in a just society? How should the historical and continuing wrongs constitutive of and/or created by racism be addressed?). We will then turn to a cluster of applied topics, including protest, reparations, and prison abolition.