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[joey_fan]

Any thoughts on this recent CHE article?

Black Women Seek a Role in Philosophy

[august]

Hi,

Yes, I saw this article and read it with interest.  When I was an undergraduate, I was very interested in philosophy, loved my philosophy courses but couldn't really get over the fact that there was not one woman professor in the philosophy department, nor was there any women adjuncts.  I should also mention that there weren't any people of color either.  This was at the UC -California system. 

Even though I really liked philosophy, I majored in women's studies and religious studies to fulfill my desire to philosophize.

Now I am in a department where I am in frequent contact with philosophers.  The last three hires in the department were young white men.  I have been questioned by the philosophers in my department for bringing up issues of diversity.  In short, I just don't see philosophers changing soon.  Perhaps the discipline will die out just as predicted by its best representatives... Nietzsche and Heidegger.  I can only hope so. 

[sockgumbee]

There is a perception that only men can really be philosophers and of men only European or Euro-American men. There's for instance only one American Indian scholarly philosopher alive right now. But as the article states, many of the scholars in the established discipline don't want to acknowledge that women or persons of color (except maybe dead Indian or Chinese men) could make any substantive contribution to philosophy.

In my discipline we read work by philosophers because they often theorize on specific aspects of life. Funny though how Aristole is regarded as worthy of wide reading yet a feminist/woman like Susan Sontag or Simone de Bouvier or African-American such as Cornel West aren't seen as having anything serious to say about all human lives--just the lives of their identity group. As if white European men's lives represent what living is. . . . well maybe since they were never considered wholesale slaves or chattel there's something to that--but then who did the deciding? I digress. Anyway I support these African-American women who are adding a different face to a stodgy discipline.

One issue I find in philosophy is that women's and people of color's bodies get in the way of their minds--by this I mean that biology is destiny. I mean if you are destined to have babies and be in servitude--again based on the decisions of white guys, as August mentions in the previous post. One would think that that would get so old.

[nardo]

You're giving way too much agency to the white guys.

[sockgumbee]

You're giving way too much agency to the white guys.

Welcome to my life

http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,41340.15.html

So, just for the record how am I at all responsible for most academic philosophers being white guys and most philosophers that are assigned in courses, including philosophy courses, being white guys? I must have been day dreaming during that part of my education, please explain.

Now if you are talking about the philosophy that the average person draws on, perhaps white guys don't have the goods on things. But in academia, in philosophy . . . you need light colored skin and a penis.

[nardo]

Yep.

And in political thought, too. 

[boolos]

Are there any good sources for showing data that this is so in philosophy or poli sci?

Thanks

Boolos

[jonesey]

Please.  Oprah's been philosophizing for years now. 

[systeme_d_]

There's for instance only one American Indian scholarly philosopher alive right now.

I happily beg to differ.

McPherson, Warrior, Hester, Cordova, etc.  !

[sockgumbee]

Systeme_D
Okey, thanks for the correction--I am partly wrong.
Alive is the operative word and V.F. Cordova has passed on.
To be fair though--Dennis McPherson is First Nations--Canadian and not necessarily thought of as "American Indian" though Lee Hester and Robert Warrier are.
And some of these folks teach neither in philosophy or American Indian Studies depts.

[only ducking in briefly since i have to move again since my present landlady refuses to fix mold/moisture problems]

[minnesotan]

Even though I really liked philosophy, I majored in women's studies and religious studies to fulfill my desire to philosophize.

Now I am in a department where I am in frequent contact with philosophers.  The last three hires in the department were young white men.  I have been questioned by the philosophers in my department for bringing up issues of diversity.  In short, I just don't see philosophers changing soon.  Perhaps the discipline will die out just as predicted by its best representatives... Nietzsche and Heidegger.  I can only hope so. 

You weren't sent a glittering invitation to the tree fort, so you'd rather it burned down and nobody had any fun?  Why not suck it up and study what you want, rather than pissing and moaning that there aren't "people like me" somewhere, so I had better go elsewhere. 

I may be male, but if I had an interest in Women's Studies, I would have studied it, even though my undergrad and grad institutions had no male professors in their departments.  I'd like to see them try to stop me, in fact.

Your argument sounds pretty timid and/or lazy.  Be a pioneer if you have to. 

More importantly, when did we get to the point where diversity (whatever that means to you - I'll let you figure it out) cannot be questioned, especially by white males?  Is there something inherent in males, or just in the white ones, that renders them unable to speak intelligently about the subject?  Or is the only issue that your views were challenged?  Would it have mattered if Peruvian females were the ones questioning your specific vision of diversity?

[august]

Even though I really liked philosophy, I majored in women's studies and religious studies to fulfill my desire to philosophize.

Now I am in a department where I am in frequent contact with philosophers.  The last three hires in the department were young white men.  I have been questioned by the philosophers in my department for bringing up issues of diversity.  In short, I just don't see philosophers changing soon.  Perhaps the discipline will die out just as predicted by its best representatives... Nietzsche and Heidegger.  I can only hope so. 

You weren't sent a glittering invitation to the tree fort, so you'd rather it burned down and nobody had any fun?  Why not suck it up and study what you want, rather than pissing and moaning that there aren't "people like me" somewhere, so I had better go elsewhere. 

I may be male, but if I had an interest in Women's Studies, I would have studied it, even though my undergrad and grad institutions had no male professors in their departments.  I'd like to see them try to stop me, in fact.

Your argument sounds pretty timid and/or lazy.  Be a pioneer if you have to. 

More importantly, when did we get to the point where diversity (whatever that means to you - I'll let you figure it out) cannot be questioned, especially by white males?  Is there something inherent in males, or just in the white ones, that renders them unable to speak intelligently about the subject?  Or is the only issue that your views were challenged?  Would it have mattered if Peruvian females were the ones questioning your specific vision of diversity?

I did study what I wanted.  I don't know why you think I didn't.  Nothing from my post indicates that.  I study philosophy, but I don't have to study it from within a white, male perspective.

Get on board the train to the future, brother.  You are archaic. 

[european]

Even though I really liked philosophy, I majored in women's studies and religious studies to fulfill my desire to philosophize.

Now I am in a department where I am in frequent contact with philosophers.  The last three hires in the department were young white men.  I have been questioned by the philosophers in my department for bringing up issues of diversity.  In short, I just don't see philosophers changing soon.  Perhaps the discipline will die out just as predicted by its best representatives... Nietzsche and Heidegger.  I can only hope so. 

You weren't sent a glittering invitation to the tree fort, so you'd rather it burned down and nobody had any fun?  Why not suck it up and study what you want, rather than pissing and moaning that there aren't "people like me" somewhere, so I had better go elsewhere. 

I may be male, but if I had an interest in Women's Studies, I would have studied it, even though my undergrad and grad institutions had no male professors in their departments.  I'd like to see them try to stop me, in fact.

Your argument sounds pretty timid and/or lazy.  Be a pioneer if you have to. 

More importantly, when did we get to the point where diversity (whatever that means to you - I'll let you figure it out) cannot be questioned, especially by white males?  Is there something inherent in males, or just in the white ones, that renders them unable to speak intelligently about the subject?  Or is the only issue that your views were challenged?  Would it have mattered if Peruvian females were the ones questioning your specific vision of diversity?

I did study what I wanted.  I don't know why you think I didn't.  Nothing from my post indicates that.  I study philosophy, but I don't have to study it from within a white, male perspective.

Get on board the train to the future, brother.  You are archaic. 

What exactly constitutes studying philosophy from a white male perspective?

[donstefano]

But just imagine the impact on the field you could make as a black philospher or so by re-introducing some old african.arab, whatever, philosopher to the mainstream philosophy. There clearly is serious underrepresentation, but the potential for the few that are represented is huge!

[philo]

If women and people of color follow August's example and choose other disciplines, then philosophy will continue to be dominated by white males.  Hiring committees can't hire applicants who don't present themselves.