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.

Autorentext

Stephen C. Ferguson II is Associate Professor in Liberal Studies at North Carolina A & T State University, USA. He is the co-author of Beyond The White Shadow: Philosophy, Sports and the African American Experience with John McClendon. He has written for Socialism & Democracy, Cultural Logic, and The Black Scholar, among other journals.

Inhalt
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.