Fanon and the Decolonization of Philosophy

Fanon and the Decolonization of Philosophy explores the range of ways in which Frantz Fanon's decolonization theory can reveal new answers to perennial philosophical questions and new paths to social justice. The aim is to show not just that Fanon's thought remains philosophically relevant, but that it is relevant to an even wider range of philosophical issues than has previously been realized. The essays in this book are written by both renowned Fanon scholars and new scholars who are emerging as experts in aspects of Fanonian thought as diverse as humanistic psychiatry, the colonial roots of racial violence and marginalization, and decolonizing possibilities in law, academia, and tourism. In addition to examining philosophical concerns that arise from political decolonization movements, many of the essays turn to the discipline of philosophy itself and take up the challenge of suggesting ways that philosophy might liberate itself from colonial—and colonizing—assumptions. This collection will be useful to those interested in political theory, feminist theory, existentialism, phenomenology, Africana studies, and Caribbean philosophy. Its Fanon-inspired vision of social justice is endorsed in the foreword by his daughter, Mireille Fanon-Mendès France, a noted human rights defender in the French-speaking world.

Elizabeth A. Hoppe and Tracey Nicholls' impressive and welcome collection of essays is invaluable reading for those anxious to evaluate and counter the juggernaut of neo-liberalism that is transforming human possibility through the shaping of human and capital flows. In addition, their collection opens new ways for us to consider the myriad ways in which Fanon—psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary—affects our thinking about ethically oriented human transformation toward being actional in our neo-liberal moment. Their fascinating, brilliant, and valuable collection explores wide-ranging topics responsible to a refreshingly generous orientation., Fanon, unbowed and rebellious, fought tenaciously and victoriously against the supremacy exerted by the powerful over the weak....This volume brings together twelve contributors wanting to illuminate, forty-nine years after his death, how Fanon thought and acted, the ways his thinking is still pertinent to our knowledge of the places he affected, and the ways his thinking confronts the experiences, problems, and issues of the present., If what we call 'philosophy' is to rise to the task of decolonizing itself, it must take stock first of its erasures, then of the critical tools still available to it—many of them coming from beyond the 'tradition.' This important volume answers both these imperatives. It offers us a return to Fanon's thought at a crucial time when globalization and neo-liberalism have reshaped older colonial patterns of international disempowerment and poverty. In so doing, it shows the pertinence—in fact, the indispensability—of Fanon in our time. Faithful to the collection's goal, the contributors address each dimension of Fanon's work, then apply theory to practice, analyzing contemporary political and economic dilemmas-in a specifically and creatively Fanonian vein.

Elizabeth A. Hoppe is associate professor of philosophy at Lewis University. Tracey Nicholls is assistant professor of philosophy and co-director of the women's studies program at Lewis University.