Professor Zeyad El Nabolsy
znabolsy@yorku.ca,

Office Location:  S418 Ross Building

Office Hours: (by appointment)

This course introduces student to developments in African philosophy from late antiquity all the way up to the 21^st century. Some of the questions which we will pose include: are there are cultural universals? Is logic (understood as a system of normative rules for correct reasoning) relative to culture? Is it necessary for a philosophical problem to be universal across cultures for it to be important? How can insights from African philosophy inform debates in other areas of philosophy regarding, for example, the theory of truth and the concept of a person? What do we mean when we say that we are seeking to decolonize, for example, epistemology or religion?

Times and locations: This course will meet for three hours in person on Thursday at 11: 30 am.

2003. P. H. Coetzee and A.P. J. Roux (Editors). The African Philosophy Reader. Second Edition. London: Routledge, 2003. ISBN-13: 978-0415968096.

Barry Hallen. A Short History of African Philosophy. Second Edition. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiania University Press, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-0253221230

Attendance and Participation (10%).

Weekly Responses (10%). (Max 200 Words)

Mid-term Paper (30%) (1500 words).

Final Paper (50%).  (3000 words).

Class time will be divided between lectures and in-class discussions. It is vital for students to attend class in person (unless there is an emergency).

1. Learn how to discern the argumentative structure of different texts.
2. Learn how to assess the adequacy or inadequacy of different forms of argument.
3. Develop an understanding of the basic problems that have given shape to African philosophy.
4. Develop a nuanced account of the relationship between philosophical discourse and its cultural context.
5. Develop a basic grasp of the history of African philosophy.

Schedule of Readings:

(Anything not from the Hallen book or not marked with (PDF provided), is from The African Philosophy Reader).

January 11^th                   No Readings (First Class, Introductions, etc.)

January 18^th                  Introduction + Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 of Hallen + Claude

Sumner’s “The Significance of Zera Yacob’s Philosophy”

(PDF provided)

January 25^th                  Chapter 3 of Hallen, Wiredu’s “The Concept of Truth in

the Akan Language”, and Serequeberhan’s “The Critique of

Eurocentrism and the Practice of African Philosophy”

February 1^st                   Chapter 4 of Hallen, Bikaolo’s “Categories of Cross-Cultural

Cognition and the African Condition”, and Sogolo’s “Logic

and Rationality”

February 8^th                   Chapter 5 of Hallen, Deacon’s “The Status of Father

Tempels and Ethnophilosophy in the Discourse of African

Philosophy”, Oruka’s “Four Trends in Current African

Philosophy”, and Hountondji’s “An Alienated Literature”.

February 8^th                   Chapter 5 of Hallen, Deacon’s “The Status of Father

Tempels and Ethnophilosophy in the Discourse of African

Philosophy”, Oruka’s “Four Trends in Current African

Philosophy”, and Hountondji’s “An Alienated Literature”.

February 15^th                  Chapter 6 of Hallen, Outlaw’s “African ‘Philosophy’:

Deconstructive and Reconstructive Challenges”, and Steve

Biko’s “Black Consciousness and the Quest for a True

Humanity”.

February 29^th                 Midterm paper Due! Sogolo’s “The Concept of Cause in

African Thought”, Oladipo’s “Metaphysics, Religion, and

Yoruba Traditional Thought”, and Wiredu’s “On

Decolonizing African Religions”.

March 7^th                       Chapter 8 of Hallen, Oruka’s “Ideology and Culture: The

African Experience”, Irele’s “Négritude: Literature and

Ideology”

March 14^th                    Chapter 7 of Hallen, and Coetzee’s “Later Marxist Morality:

Its Relevance for Africa’s Post-Colonial Situation”.

March 21^st                   Narayan’s “Essence of Cultures and a Sense of History: A

Feminist Critique of Cultural Essentialism”, Oyěwùmí’s

“Visualizing the Body”, and Wilkinson’s “South African

Women and the Ties that Bind”.

March 28^th                   Wiredu’s “The Moral Foundations of African Culture”,

Gyekye’s “Person and Community in African Thought

April 4^th                       8-minute class presentations on final paper.

Grading:

The grading scheme for this course conforms to the 9-point system used in undergraduate programs at York University.

Assignment Submission, Late Penalties, and Other Policies:

Assignments will be due at 11:59 pm on the day that they are due. I am happy to grant you extensions as long as you ask at least three days in advance. Unless you have an emergency, I am not going to grant you an extension if you ask me for an extension the day that the assignment is due. If you do not have an extension, then late assignments will be penalized at half a letter grade per day. So, for example, if you get an A+ on an assignment that is two days late, you will receive a grade of B+, and so on.

You miss up to two classes per semester without penalty (and without excuse). However, if you miss more than two, then you need to provide me with some adequate justification.

Students who miss the tests with a valid excuse (e.g., through illness) will be provided with the opportunity to make up for the missed test with no penalty.

All work submitted must be your own work. Plagiarism is a very serious academic transgression and it will not be tolerated. Please see the definition provided by York University. The use of A.I. such as ChatGPT is strictly prohibited.

I strive to create an inclusive classroom environment where everyone is welcome. If you need any accommodations please let me know as soon as possible, and we will develop a plan in collaboration with Student Accessibility Services.

Some of the topics that we will be discussing will undoubtedly lead to the raising of controversial opinions, and I encourage civil critical debate. However, any discriminatory or hateful remarks are not welcome in class.