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Organization, Regulations, and Courses 2022-23


AAAS 24.50 Contemporary Black Political Thought and the Modern World

In the era and “return” of mass political social movements, the question is perhaps not what is the most urgent political struggle of today; rather, what remains unheard, unseen, and unthought in the struggle for political freedom? This course seeks to familiarize students with the works of contemporary black political thinkers who have contributed to the rich theoretical developments and productive tensions in Black Studies, discourses on black resistance and freedom struggle, and political action itself. The course focuses on several key concepts—such as civic and social death, sovereignty, the collective unconscious, the radical imagination—as a way to examine notions of agency and the psychic life of racial violence, particularly in the context of the United States. What is the dream-work of Black freedom? And how do dreams of (black) freedom become realized and/or barred from larger socio-political, economic, and legal structures to the more abstract registers of language, aesthetics, culture, and the imagination? The course investigates the theoretical tenets within contemporary Black Studies as critical theory, arguing that these are equally contributive to the continental philosophical tradition on questions of life, rights, civil society, and personhood.

Degree Requirement Attributes

Dist:SOC; WCult:W

The Timetable of Class Meetings contains the most up-to-date information about a course. It includes not only the meeting time and instructor, but also its official distributive and/or world culture designation. This information supersedes any information you may see elsewhere, to include what may appear in this ORC/Catalog or on a department/program website. Note that course attributes may change term to term therefore those in effect are those (only) during the term in which you enroll in the course.