Philosophy of African American Studies

In this ground-breaking book, Stephen C. Ferguson addresses a seminal question that is too-often ignored: What should be the philosophical basis for African American studies? The volume explores philosophical issues and problems in their relationship to Black studies. Ferguson shows that philosophy is not a sterile intellectual pursuit, but a critical tool to gathering knowledge about the Black experience.

Cultural idealism in various forms has become enormously influential as a framework for Black studies. Ferguson takes on the task of demonstrating how a Marxist philosophical perspective offers a productive and fruitful way of overcoming the limitations of idealism. Focusing on the hugely popular Afrocentric school of thought, this book s engaging discussion shows that the foundational arguments of cultural idealism are based on a series of analytical

and historical misapprehensions. In turn, Ferguson argues for the centrality of the Black working class both men and women to Black Studies.

Introduction. - Chapter 1: Class Struggle in the Ivory Towers: Revisiting the Birth of Black Studies in `68. - Chapter 2: The Afrocentric Problematic: The Quest for Particularity and the Negation of Objectivity. - Chapter 3: Old Wine in a New Bottle? The Critique of Eurocentrism in Marima Ani s Yurugu. - Chapter 4: The Heritage we Renounce: The Utopian Worldview of Afrocentricity. - Chapter 5: What s Epistemology Got to do with it? : The Death of Epistemology in African American Studies.