Critical Philosophy of Race Essays

The fifteen essays by distinguished philosopher of race Robert Bernasconi that are collected here demonstrate why the critical philosophy of race needs to take a historical turn. Genealogies of the concepts of both race and racism clarify why some of the dominant strategies for combatting racism tend to be ineffective. For example, the Boasian/UNESCO strategy that highlights biology's rejection of race neglects cultural racism. Drawing on the work of Frantz Fanon, the late Sartre, and Michel Foucault, Robert Bernasconi argues for a holistic approach that integrates the concrete experience of racism faced by individuals into the study of institutional, structural, and systemic racism. His philosophical studies of such Black philosophers as Ottobah Cugoano, Anténor Firmin, and W. E. B. Du Bois, contribute to challenging the dominant philosophical canon. This volume will be an essential resource for scholars and students interested in this resurgent topic.