Philosophy (PHIL) |
211 Susan Campbell, 541-346-5547
College of Arts & Sciences
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Course Data
| PHIL 341 African Philosophy >1 >GP |
4.00 cr. |
| Survey of contemporary African philosophy with a focus on current debates (for example, critique of ethnophilosophy; relation between orality and writing; decolonization of knowledge). |
| Grading Options: |
Optional; see degree guide or catalog for degree requirements
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| Instructor: |
Stawarska B  |
Office:
247 Susan Campbell Hall
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| Office Hours: |
0000 - 2359 MTWRF |
by appointment only during Fall 2020 |
| Course Materials |
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CRN |
Avail |
Max |
Time |
Day |
Location |
Instructor |
Notes |
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35617 |
0 |
30 |
1000-1150 |
mw |
301 GER |
Stawarska B |
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Final Exam: |
1015-1215 |
w 6/11 |
301 GER |
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Academic Deadlines
| Deadline |
Last day to: |
| March 30: |
Process a complete drop (100% refund, no W recorded) |
| April 5: |
Drop this course (100% refund, no W recorded; after this date, W's are recorded) |
| April 5: |
Process a complete drop (90% refund, no W recorded; after this date, W's are recorded) |
| April 6: |
Process a complete withdrawal (90% refund, W recorded) |
| April 6: |
Withdraw from this course (100% refund, W recorded) |
| April 7: |
Add this course |
| April 7: |
Last day to change to or from audit |
| April 13: |
Process a complete withdrawal (75% refund, W recorded) |
| April 13: |
Withdraw from this course (75% refund, W recorded) |
| April 20: |
Process a complete withdrawal (50% refund, W recorded) |
| April 20: |
Withdraw from this course (50% refund, W recorded) |
| April 27: |
Process a complete withdrawal (25% refund, W recorded) |
| April 27: |
Withdraw from this course (25% refund, W recorded) |
| May 18: |
Withdraw from this course (0% refund, W recorded) |
| May 18: |
Change grading option for this course |
 | You can't drop your last class using the "Add/Drop" menu in DuckWeb. Go to the “Completely Withdraw from Term/University” link to begin the complete withdrawal process. If you need assistance with a complete drop or a complete withdrawal, please contact the Office of Academic Advising, 101 Oregon Hall, 541-346-3211 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday). If you are attempting to completely withdraw after business hours, and have difficulty, please contact the Office of Academic Advising the next business day. |
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Expanded Course Description
| This course provides an overview of contemporary African philosophy, that is, intellectual contributions and scholarly debates pursued by philosophers working primarily on the African continent. Considering that the very existence of a distinct branch of philosophy ‘made in Africa’ has been subject to a lively debate, we open with the so-called ‘ethnophilosophy’ (a traditional belief system shared by African people) and its critique developed most famously by Paulin Hountondji (African Philosophy: Myth and Reality). We read some representative ‘ethnophilosophical’ texts, notably by Tempels, Senghor and Mbiti, alongside the critique. We then turn to contemporary research that critically engages distinctly African epistemic perspectives without essentializing them into an immutable tradition. We read Diagne’s reflections on the oral and graphic reason that demonstrate the existence of a robust written tradition in Africa (The Ink of Scholars). We consider Wiredu’s contributions to philosophical understanding of truth, language, and morality, developed in particular attention to the language and thought of the Ghanaian Akans (Cultural Universals and Particulars). We track how Akan philosophizing can address some of the paradoxes plaguing the West, such as the supernaturalist foundations of morality and the mind-body problem. We conclude with a discussion of contemporary African feminist philosophy, and its impact on Western philosophies of gender. Oyewumi’s and Nzegwu’s study of social organization among the Nigerian Yoruba (The Invention of Women; ‘Impact and Limits of the Metaphysics of Gender’) demonstrate that, contrary to the Western feminist view that the subordination of women is universal, the old Yoruba do not organize society by gender but by relative age, and do not construct a gender binary opposing ‘women’ to ‘men’. Ultimately, this course offers an expanded way of understanding both the African and the Western philosophical traditions within a decolonial comparative framework. |
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