The story most often told about modernity is of grand achievement, the triumphant march of reason and moral persuasion from Descartes to today. But that story is wrong because it obscures a grim truth: that modernity was built upon the degradation and colonization of Black people. Africana philosophy celebrates the achievements of thinkers of the African diaspora whose explorations of freedom, justification and redemption challenge the achievements of modernity – and offer powerful lessons for the future.

Students use code SCSTUDENT for $16 tickets

Lewis Gordon

Speaker

Lewis Gordon is professor and department head of philosophy at the University of Connecticut. As a political thinker, writer, musician, and educator, his areas of specialisation include Africana philosophy, existentialism, phenomenology, philosophy of science, philosophy of education, aesthetics, and philosophy of culture, race and racism. His books include Freedom, Justice, and Decolonization (2021), which reimagines liberation through Africana philosophy, and Fear of Black Consciousness (2022) which positions Black consciousness as both a political commitment and creative practice. He is also editor of the American Philosophical Association blog series Black Issues in Philosophy and co-editor of the journal Philosophy and Global Affairs. In 2022, Lewis was the recipient of the Eminent Scholar Award from the Global Development Studies division of the International Studies Association.

Lewis is on Twitter at @lewgord.

Moor Mother

Artist

The songwriter, composer, vocalist, poet, and educator Camae Ayewa (aka Moor Mother) spent years organising and performing in Philadelphia’s underground music community before moving to Los Angeles to teach composition at the University of Southern California. She released her debut album, Fetish Bones, in 2016, and has since put out an abundance of acclaimed music, both as a solo artist and in collaboration with other musicians who share her drive to dig up the untold. She has performed and recorded with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and made records with billy woods, Mental Jewelry, and YATTA. Camae’s latest album Jazz Codes (2022) illuminates the principles of her collaborative practice Black Quantum Futurism, a theoretical framework for perceiving and adjusting reality through art and performance, informed by historical Black ontologies.

Moor Mother is on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook at @moormother.

Sam Dresser

Host

Sam Dresser is a senior editor at Aeon+Psyche. He enjoys, to a fault, taking interminable train rides and drinking good Scotch, both of which pair beautifully with what we do at Sophia Club New York: talk about meaningful ideas in a lively, playful way.