African-American Philosophers: 17 Conversations [Paperback]

George Yancy (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415921007 | ISBN-13: 978-0415921008 | Publication Date: October 8, 1998

African-American Philosophers brings into conversation seventeen of the foremost thinkers of color to discuss issues such as Black existentialism, racism, Black women philosophers within the academy, affirmative action and the conceptual parameters of African-American philosophy.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Yancy, a clinical family therapist in Philadelphia, interviews 17 black philosophers on such issues as racism, the nature of African American philosophy, affirmative action, and other topics of interest in contemporary African American thought. Among those interviewed are Robert E. Birt, Laurence Thomas, Joy Ann James, Angela Y. Davis, Anita L. Allen, and Cornel West. The interviewees span a wide range of contemporary thought and experience; Yancy is a skilled interviewer whose intelligent and probing questions add depth to his subjects' responses. Each interview begins with a brief biography and ends with a selective bibliography of the interviewee's published works. On the whole, the interviews are of high caliber, in particular the lead interview with Davis, who talks about the factors that affected her intellectual and social development. Recommended for libraries with collections in contemporary American thought, black studies, and the history of philosophy.?Terry C. Skeats, Bishop's Univ. Lib., Lennoxville, Quebec
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Yancy characterizes this work as an attempt to move the center of mainstream Euro-American philosophical conversations to include other, equally legitimate streams. Through interviews with 17 contemporary African American philosophers, he explores issues of diverse philosophical positions; he also deconstructs the boundaries between what is deemed "mainstream" versus marginal to offer a diversity of voices and to illustrate the wide range of philosophical concerns with which African Americans grapple. Yancy relates that the impetus for this work stemmed, in part, from his own sense of isolation in his field, based partly on the limited number of African Americans in philosophy, and the "narrow focus of the discourse" of great philosophers of the past. So his own experiences and his interviews with such philosophers as Angela Davis, Cornel West, Adrian Piper, and Lucius Outlaw reflect both similar and contrasting efforts to work through these dilemmas. The views of these philosophers with varying degrees of "race-centered concern" make for fascinating reading to those interested in both philosophy and race relations. Vernon Ford --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (October 8, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415921007
• ISBN-13: 978-0415921008
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #976,627 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SUPERB INTRODUCTION TO 17 CONTEMPORARY BLACK PHILOSOPHERS, August 27, 2009

By 

Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: African-American Philosophers: 17 Conversations (Paperback)

George Yancy conducts interviews with seventeen very notable contemporary African-American philosophers, including seven women: Angela Davis, Anita Allen, Michele Moody-Adams, Joy James, Naomi Zack, Adrian M.S. Piper, and Joyce Mitchell Cook, as well as Cornel West, Lucius Outlaw, Bernard Boxill, Lewis Gordon, Leonard Harris, Tommy Lott, Robert E. Birt, Laurence Thomas, Howard McGary, and Albert Mosley.

Remarkably (compared to similar such collections), each philosopher is given enough space (an average of nearly 20 pages apiece) to express his/her ideas, so that the trivialization that often occurs in such interviews is avoided. Yancy asks penetrating questions (e.g., "Why is there such a paucity of African-American professional philosophers?"; "Do you see the category of race as the dominating discourse in the United States?"; "How have African-American women fared in the field of philosophy?"; "Do you envision a time when there will be no need for a Committee on Blacks in Philosophy?"), but he gives the space to the ANSWERS, and keeps his own presence unintrusive.

There are also a number of personal insights given by interviewees (e.g., Cornel West's reply to the question, "Do you see yourself as a professional philosopher?" - "No, not at all"), as well as deep insights into the profession itself (e.g., Howard McGary's comment that the American Philosophical Association has "done very little as an organization" to increase the number of black philosophers; Lucius Outlaw's observation that there are more black philosophers in Africa, than philosophers of African descent in the U.S.).

For anyone interested in contemporary Philosophy; Black/Africana Philosophy; or Black Studies in general, this book is a "must-have." (See my Amazon list, "Black (African-American) Philosophers" for other books of like interest.)