Philosophies of Liberation
This course explored twentieth century African American and Black Diaspora liberation philosophy, theology, and human rights activism in an effort to understand the moral frameworks, ethical traditions, conceptual basis, and historical roots of liberation thought in the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa. Special emphasis was placed on investigating the intersections of religion, ethics, and politics alongside feminist and womanist reflections on power to stimulate deep cross-cultural dialogue of competing and overlapping political struggles and moral traditions. Through an interdisciplinary approach, students investigated both the promise and challenge of liberation thought in the twenty-first century and developed the analytical tools to reflect upon their own epistemic traditions and narratives with respect to considering how their research might address social oppression and human degradation. This class (GOVT 457/THEO 370) was taught by Terrence Johnson as a Doyle Seminar (small upper-level classes that foster deepened student learning about diversity and difference through research and dialogue).
