Forms of Spatial and Textual Alienation: The Lived Experience of Philosophy as Occlusion, by George Yancy
Yancy discusses the high stakes and risks for Blacks and other philosophers of color of engaging in philosophy, and the oppressive and exclusionary reality of philosophy as it has been practiced throughout history to the present day and experienced by non-whites. Yancy focuses on the experience of spatial alienation for Blacks produced, for instance, by the organization of the spaces of academic philosophy such as conferences, as sites of effective white history. He also explores how philosophical texts can function to alienate and occlude, discussing Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason as an example. Starting from the perspective of his lived experience as a Black philosopher, and relating the discussion to current affairs, Yancy argues that whiteness has functioned as a transcendental norm that continues to shape the philosophical imaginary.
Article available through Philosophy Documentation Center, here.
George Yancy is Professor of Philosophy at Duquesne University. He has authored, edited, or co-edited numerous books and many academic articles and book chapters. Yancy’s work has been cited as far as the UK, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey and Sweden. His first authored book received an Honorable Mention from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights, and three of his edited books have received CHOICE outstanding academic book awards. He is “Philosophy of Race” Book Series Editor at Lexington Books. He has twice won the Duquesne University McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship. He is currently working on two edited books and a new authored book.
George Yancy, “Forms of Spatial and Textual Alienation: The Lived Experience of Philosophy as Occlusion,” introduction to “Philosophy and Race,” ed. Alexis Dianda and Robin M. Muller, special issue, Graduate Faculty Philosophy Journal 35:1–2 (2014), pp. 7–22.