Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
University of Pittsburgh (1990 - 1998)
Ph.D., Philosophy
Doctoral Certificate in the Program for Cultural Studies
Florida A & M University (1986 - 1990)
B.A., magna cum laude, Philosophy
ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT
Harvard University (2000 - )
Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies and of Social Studies
Ohio State University (1998 - 2000)
Assistant Professor of Philosophy and (affiliate) of African-American and African Studies
Areas of Specialization
African American Philosophy; Philosophical Perspectives on Race and Racism; Social and Political Philosophy; and Marxist Social Theory.
Areas of Competence
Moral Philosophy; Philosophy of Law; Philosophy of Social Science; and Cultural Studies.
PUBLICATIONS
Books
We Who Are Dark: Philosophical Foundations of Black Solidarity ( Harvard University Press, 2005).
In light of well-known critiques of race-thinking, essentialism, identity politics, and black nationalism, the idea of "black solidarity" would seem to be on shaky moral and theoretical grounds at best. However, this study seeks to defend a conception of black solidarity that can withstand these serious challenges to its coherence and legitimacy. It aims to provide a normative foundation for mutual identification, special concern, loyalty, trust, and common principles among black Americans within the political sphere. This political unity would be rooted in the experience of and fight against racism, racial inequality, and black poverty. It would reject romantic racialism, cultural nationalism, and the ideal of black collective self-determination. Instead, it would focus on the content and dynamics of racist ideology and the forms of oppression that it enables and sustains. I defend this oppression-centered conception of black solidarity through a critical philosophical engagement with the work of prominent figures in the history of black political thought—e.g., Delany, Du Bois, Garvey, and Malcolm X. Through an internal critique and a philosophical reconstruction of some of their most influential ideas, I defend a form of black solidarity that I believe is still viable in the post-civil rights era.
Hip Hop and Philosophy: Rhyme 2 Reason, co-edited with Derrick Darby (Open Court Publishing , 2005)
Articles
"Black Nationalism" for Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy On-Line, ed. Edward Craig (London: Routledge, 2004).
"Race and Social Justice: Rawlsian Considerations," Fordham Law Review 72 (2004): 1697-1714.
"Blackness and Blood: Interpreting African American Identity" (with Lionel McPherson) Philosophy & Public Affairs 32 (March 2004): 171-192.
"Two Conceptions of Black Nationalism: Martin Delany on the Meaning of Black Political Solidarity," Political Theory 31 (October 2003): 664-692.
"Ideology, Racism, and Critical Social Theory," The Philosophical Forum 34 (Summer 2003): 153-188.
"Parasites, Pimps, and Capitalists: A Naturalistic Conception of Exploitation," Social Theory and Practice 28 (July 2002): 381-418.
"Is Racism in the 'Heart'?" Journal of Social Philosophy 33 (Fall 2002): 411-420.
"Foundations of Black Solidarity: Collective Identity or Common Oppression?" Ethics 112 (January 2002): 231-266.
Book Reviews
Charles W. Mills, From Class to Race: Essays in White Marxism and Black Radicalism in Perspectives on Politics 2 (September 2004).
Lawrence Blum, I'm Not a Racist, ButÂ…: The Moral Quandary of Race in Philosophical Review 112 (January 2003): 124-126.
David Ingram, Group Rights in Ethics 112 (January 2002): 422-423.
INVITED TALKS AND CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION
"Du Bois on Black Solidarity and the Educated Elite." Special roundtable to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of W. E. B. Du Bois's Souls of Black Folk; American Political Science Association; Philadelphia, PA; August 28-31, 2003.
"The Ideal of Black Cultural Self-Determination." Symposium on Pragmatism and Nationalism; SUNY Stony Brook; Stony Brook, NY; April 25-26, 2003.
"The Ideal of Black Self-Determination." College of the Holy Cross; Department of Philosophy; Worcester, MA; April 10, 2003.
Conference on Racism and Philosophy; Baruch College; New York, NY; March 6-7, 2003.
Commentator for the Panel "Social Construction of Racial and Ethnic Identities"; American Political Science Association; Boston, MA; August 29 – September 1, 2002.
Comment on Aldon Morris, "Engagement in Public Activism." Conference on Social Connectedness and Public Activism; Harvard University; Cambridge, MA; May 23-24, 2002.
"Two Conceptions of Black Nationalism: Martin Delany on the Meaning of Black Political Solidarity" Future of Minority Studies Conference: "Redefining Identity Politics"; Stanford University; Stanford, CA; October 19-20, 2001.
Saint Anselm College; History Society; Manchester, NH; February 20, 2002
Society for the Study of Africana Philosophy; New York, NY; February 17, 2002.
Forty-First Annual Conference of the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (critical commentary by Lucius Outlaw); Chicago, IL; October 10-12, 2002.
Harvard University; Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research;Cambridge, MA; October 30, 2002.
"Is Racism in the 'Heart'?" (critical commentary by David Kim). American Philosophical Association (Pacific Division); San Francisco, CA; March 28-31, 2001.
"African American Studies at Harvard." College of Arts and Sciences Forum Luncheon; Bowling Green State University; Bowling Green, OH; February 16, 2001.
Comment on Jami Anderson, "Placing Blame in a Racist Society." American Philosophical Association (Central Division); Chicago, IL; April 20-23, 2000.
Comment on David Weberman, "Is Group Identity in Bad Faith? A Sartrean Perspective." American Philosophical Association (Eastern Division); Boston, MA; December 27-30, 1999.
"Foundations of Black Solidarity: Collective Identity or Common Oppression?"
Collegium for African American Research Annual Conference: "Crossroutes: The Meanings of Race for the 21st Century"; Cagliari/Sardinia, Italy; March 21-25, 2001.
American Philosophical Association (Pacific Division). Special Session sponsored by the APA Committee on Blacks in Philosophy (critical commentary by Howard McGary); Albuquerque, NM; April 6-9, 2000.
Harvard University; Department of Afro-American Studies and Committee on Degrees in Social Studies; Cambridge, MA; January 15, 2000.
Alain Locke Conference: "Race and Gender"; Howard University; Washington, DC; September 17-19, 1999.
"Parasites, Pimps, and Capitalists: A Naturalistic Conception of Exploitation"
Bowling Green State University; Department of Philosophy; Bowling Green, OH; February 16, 2001.
University of Pittsburgh; Department of Philosophy; Pittsburgh, PA; December 5, 1997
"Toward a Reconstruction of the Marxian Moral Ideology Thesis." Ohio State University; Department of Philosophy; Columbus, OH; winter 1996.
Comment on Carol Moeller, "Moral Attention: Ethics Without Illusions." University of Pittsburgh; Cultural Studies Colloquium; Pittsburgh, PA; spring 1994.
FELLOWSHIPS, SCHOLARSHIPS, AND AWARDS
Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship for Minorities, 2002-2003
Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, Harvard University, 2000-2001
College of Humanities Minority Dissertation Fellowship, Ohio State University, 1996-1998
Michael R. Bennett Graduate Student Essay Prize in Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh, 1996
Provost Development Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh, 1995-1996
Cultural Studies Graduate Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh, 1993-1994
Teaching Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh, 1991-1992; 1992-1993; 1994-1995
Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship in Philosophy, Florida A & M University, 1988-1990
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Black Nationalism
Concepts of Human Nature
Contemporary Philosophical Theories of Equality
Introduction to Ethics
Introduction to Social and Political Philosophy
Introduction to European Classical Social Theory
Marxism: The Analytical School
Marx and Marxism
Marxist Theories of Racism
Philosophical Perspectives on Race and Racism
Philosophy of Law
Philosophy of Social Science
MANUSCRIPT REFEREE
American Political Science Review
Prentice-Hall
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Philosophical Association (Eastern Division)
American Political Science Association
PROFESSIONAL AND UNIVERSITY SERVICE
Advisory Committee to the Program Committee (Africana Philosophy); American Philosophical Association (Eastern Division), 2002-2005.
Committee on Blacks in Philosophy; American Philosophical Association, 2001-2004.
Junior Faculty Search Committee; Department of Afro-American Studies and Committee on the Study of Religion; Harvard University, 2001-2002.
Junior Faculty Search Committee; Department of Afro-American Studies and Department of English and American Literature and Language; Harvard University, 2001-2002.
Faculty Council; Faculty of Arts and Sciences; Harvard University, 2001-2002.