Black Existentialism: Essays on the Transformative Thought of Lewis R. Gordon (Global Critical Caribbean Thought)

Few contemporary intellectuals have attempted to inform theory, the academy and social change as does Lewis Gordon. Following his own path of Fanon, Cesaire and Said, Gordon’s work is an urgent call to action that is critical ‘in the trying times’ in which we find ourselves. In this important book, international scholars from many disciplines and areas of life engage in Gordon’s work to prod, rattle and rethink our thinking to inform and change our practices as humans in institutions, politics, and the personal, legal and social paradigms. The book focuses on the importance of radical theory and thinkers to push for projects of change in the area of Black Existentialism. Gordon’s now extensive oeuvre personifies this. The essays use the work of Lewis Gordon to demonstrate how theory and thought be can used for transformation of existence, antiracism and critiques of alterity, resistance, pedagogy, political action theory and disciplinary decadence in the academy and beyond. Contents Introduction 1 Toward a Radical Humanities for a Radical Humanity (for Lewis R. Gordon) 2 Toward a Pedagogy of Absences, Conflict, and Emergencies 3 Considerations on the Theoretical Dimensions of Lewis R. Gordon’s Thought for Brazilian Intellectual Production 4 Sociotelic Reflections on Lewis R. Gordon’s Anti-Colonial Imagination 5 The Radical Language of Lewis R. Gordon’s Black Existentialism 6 The Transformative Power of Lewis R. Gordon’s Africana Philosophy in Mandela’s House 7 Black Feminism, Lewis R. Gordon, and the Demands of Intersectional Thought 8 Why I Can’t Quite Put My Finger on It 9 Lewis R. Gordon 10 Plural Racial Ontology 11 A Phenomenological and Psychodynamic Reflection on Freedom and Oppression Following the Guiding Thread of Lewis R. Gordon’s Existential Phenomenology of Oppression 12 Lewis R. Gordon’s Existential Cartography 13 Dwelling Otherwise References Index About the Contributors Offering a critical examination of Lewis Gordon's work by international scholars engaging in radical epistemological transformation for social change, this volume explores the importance of radical theory and thinkers to push for projects of change in the area of Black Existentialism.