What Fanon Said
A Philosophical Introduction to His Life and Thought
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Fordham University Press
Published:1st Apr '15
Should be back in stock very soon
In What Fanon Said, Lewis Gordon explores Frantz Fanon's revolutionary ideas, challenging colonial legacies and advocating for a more inclusive philosophical discourse.
Challenging the perception that theory is inherently white while experience is black, Lewis Gordon presents a profound exploration of Frantz Fanon in What Fanon Said. This philosophical portrait delves into the life and thoughts of the Martinican-turned-Algerian revolutionary psychiatrist and philosopher, positioning him as a beacon of 'living thought' in the face of colonialism and racism. Gordon's work underscores the ongoing significance of Fanon's ideas, illustrating how they resonate in contemporary discussions about race and identity.
In What Fanon Said, Gordon tackles the pervasive notion that reason is a white construct, relegating emotion to a black domain of supposed unreason. By examining Fanon's contributions through his own translations of original French texts, Gordon engages deeply with a range of topics, including dialectics, ethics, existentialism, and political theory. His critical analysis not only honors Fanon's legacy but also confronts the academic tendencies that perpetuate colonial and racist frameworks in philosophical discourse.
Furthermore, Gordon addresses controversies surrounding Fanon's views on gender, sexuality, and political violence, drawing on insights from scholars across the Global South. This inclusive approach allows for a richer dialogue that positions theorists from diverse backgrounds as equal contributors to the conversation. Ultimately, What Fanon Said advocates for the establishment of healthier human relationships that transcend the limitations imposed by colonial paradigms.
"Gordon is interested in understanding and correcting the systematic delegitimization of black intellectuals, both in philosophy and within the broader scope of theory...This is how Gordon pertinently introduces considerations of race and racism within the epistemological field, engaging his readers to be more perceptive with regard to what could be called a 'colour line in theory'." -- -Lucy Kim-Chi Mercier Radical Philosophy 198 "Gordon allows us to read Fanon in new and different ways, contextualizing his thought in a wide arc of knowledge-from St. Augustine and traditional Akan philosophy to contemporaries such as De Beauvoir, Sartre, and Senghor, to more recent continental philosophers. Along the way, Gordon incorporates relevant debates from contemporary theoretical movements such as critical race theory. What Fanon Said is a provocative and illuminating study." -- -Abdul R. JanMohamed, University of California, Berkeley University of California, Berkeley "Gordon has contextualised Fanon's words in an impressive analysis of his texts in relation to other thinkers and critics." -Socialist Review "In the hands of Lewis Gordon, What Fanon Said, becomes what Frantz Fanon says to us today. The book brings alive the revolutionary thought and practice of Fanon into the continuing struggles for structural economic, political, social, and psychic transformations of our world. The struggle against anti-black racism is an integral part of it, and Gordon's Fanon is the many-sided thinker who saw it all and give it words of fire in his works, particularly Black Skin, White Masks and The Damned of the Earth." -Ngugi wa Thiong'o, author of Wizard of the Crow, from the Wits University Press edition
ISBN: 9780823266098
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
216 pages