Intercultural Philosophy and Postcolonial Theory

Course Objective

Course goals:

You will gain knowledge of:

• The understanding of the origins and context of the Western canon
• The basics of Intercultural and Postcolonial Approaches in doing Philosophy
• A broader range of philosophical authors than the canon provides

And insight into:

• Inclusive/exclusive power structures embedded in Western philosophy at the level of concepts, text and discourse.
• The relation between inclusive/exclusive power structures in philosophy and social structures.
• Cultural, racial, and other structures that form our life and thought, as well as ways to address and overcome them

You will develop the skills to:

• Think from non-Western dominated philosophical perspectives
• Develop a critical analysis and critique of the social- historical contexts of the Western philosophical canon.
• Critically analyze implications of dominant conceptual formations of Western Philosophy.
• Present your own study of course texts in class.
• Practice writing a philosophical paper connected to the study material

Course Content

This course studies the exclusionary effects of the Western philosophical canon, as well as efforts to repair them. Postcolonial Theory and Intercultural Philosophy represent two different approaches geared towards such repair. We will study them and some classic authors that created these approaches. We will look into their historical contexts, and analyze where they conflict and where they complement each other. We will do all of this by means of critical text-reading, group dialogue, and forming one’s own (argued) view of the course materials in writing.

The Western canon is a term we use for the body of philosophical work that self-identifies as rooted in ancient Greek philosophical thought and reached its pinnacle in the North-European Enlightenment. It is supposed to be most rational and has a universal reach to enlighten ‘all mankind’. The canon construed its own history of rational progress (Park 2013), while projecting an ’other’ to differentiate itself from. This other historically comprised a variety of thinkers from many parts of the world that may be sexualized (e.g. female thinkers’) racialized (as ‘black’ or ‘indian’) or culturalized (as Asian, African, indigenous native American, etc.).

Postcolonial Theory is the name for a body of critical thought that arose around the time of political decolonization and that persisted in the decades after up till now as a critique of neocolonial situations. It also includes critiques of racial oppression in its systemic forms.

Intercultural Philosophy has its roots in the increasing encounters between people through globalization, migration and communication by all kinds of different means. In Europe it had its systematic formulation in the 1990s and is based upon thinkers of dialogue such as Hans-Georg Gadamer. We will also study a new African approach, based upon the concept and practice of conversation.

Teaching Methods

The didactical approach of the course is interactive, which means that you are expected to:

• Attend the lectures / seminars (combined in one session)
• Watch in preparation any video material recommended per session
• Read in advance the literature for each session
• Make your own library / internet searches if you need more background to the literature, and also to prepare for your essays
• Bring your questions and critical remarks to class
• Participate in discussions with your peers and the teacher
• Deliver your assignments on the required dates

Type of Assessment

Assessments:

•  A written review (individual assignment) of one or two of the texts of max. 1000 words (20%) (assessment of course goals 1-8 and 9)
• Presentation (group assignment) based on one of the texts (different from those of the review) (30%) (assessment of course goals 1-8 and 10)
• Paper (individual assignment) of max. 3000 words about a topic discussed in the course (50%) (assessment of course goals 1-8 and 11)