PHIL 250-01, Philosophy of Race, Fall 2007

Abstract

In this course, we will examine the advent and evolution of the concept of “race,” how it has been treated philosophically, and its application to the fields of ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, scientific methodology, and politics. The course will conclude with an evaluation of South African apartheid and the post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in order to discuss contemporary political strategies devised to address the “problem” of race. Students are encouraged to think critically not only about race as a global phenomenon or philosophical concept, but also as it may bear on their own particular experience.