Lewis Gordon Archives - Public Seminar

Feature

Seeking Illumination in Dark Times

On the power of art, race and racism, and the limitations of science and politics

September 7, 2018 • by Jeffrey C. Goldfarb

Reading our series on the arts, provides some hope in our dark times, on this cloudy and humid Friday afternoon in New York. I have long believed that the key to liberation is illumination, that we have to see the ways things are, and see how things might possibly change, ...

Feature

A Conversation on Get Out

Black Issues in Philosophy

June 25, 2018 • by Lewis Gordon and Derefe Kimarley Chevannes

Having recently viewed Jordan Peele’s award-winning Get Out (2017), political theorist Derefe Kimarley Chevannes was prompted to discuss the film with philosopher Lewis Gordon, whose writings include discussions of race in horror films and literature. DEREFE KIMARLEY CHEVANNES: Lewis, it’s a pleasure to have this discussion with you. As I begin, ...

Feature

A Conversation on The Black Panther

Black Issues in Philosophy

June 17, 2018 • by Lewis Gordon and Gregory Doukas

Prior to the release of The Black Panther, some well-intentioned whites on social media recommended whites to wait a week before going to see the movie so black audiences could “have their moment” without white intrusion. Greg Doukas felt this stance was senseless, and contacted Lewis Gordon to hear his thoughts. Gordon ...

Feature

The Mirage of Universalism Behind European Localism

An Excerpt from The Palgrave Handbook of African Philosophy

May 11, 2018 • by Walter Mignolo

It should be clear by now that Eurocentrism is not limited to the “bad,” but it encompasses also the “good” and the “ugly.” That means that Eurocentric critiques of Eurocentrism are indeed part of the image of totality that Eurocentrism projects. The question is to delink from it and to ...