Oct 21 Colloquium: "Arts of Resistance: Locating Black Women's Philosophies"

The Foucault Society, NYC
2011 Colloquium Series: New Research in Foucault Studies

Devonya N. Havis, Ph.D. "Arts of Resistance: Locating Black Women's Philosophies"

We are delighted to announce our first colloquium of this academic year. Please join us for an evening of critical dialogue and light refreshment.

Friday, October 21, 2011
7:00-9:30pm

CUNY Graduate Center
365 Fifth Avenue, Room 5409
New York, NY

Abstract:
This paper works through Foucault to examine the parameters within which Black women's lived experience can be intelligible as philosophy. Toni Morrison characterizes the condition of Black women in the US as one in which they have "nothing to fall back on; not maleness, not whiteness, not ladyhood, not anything." It is at the juncture of self-invention, which simultaneously contests and resists imposed categories, that Black women's philosophies emerge. As opposed to a static set of philosophical principles, Black women's philosophies are more aptly described as philosophical strategies that perform ethico-political interventions--doing philosophy from the posture of critique. In evoking the notion of "doing philosophy," the project calls attention to philosophy as a practice, or process of habituation, whereby one develops an active critical posture in which theory and action are necessary linked. My account enlists Foucault's analytic of subjugated knowledges, takes up his elaborations on genealogy (as outlined in Society Must Be Defended), and explores his discussions of critique and the "Aesthetics of Existence."

Speaker bio:
Devonya N. Havis (Ph.D., Boston College) is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY. Her research engages contemporary continental philosophy with critical race theory to promote social justice. Her current work develops a conception of auditory identity as a counter to the longstanding philosophical emphasis on the visual. Recent articles include "Blackness Beyond Witness" in Philosophy and Social Criticism (2010). Courses she teaches range from introduction to traditional Western philosophical concepts to explorations of the political implications of Hip-Hop theory. She is the Conference Site Coordinator for the Foucault Circle's 2012 Annual Meeting, taking place in Buffalo on March 30-April 1.

About the Colloquium Series:
The Foucault Society's Colloquium Series provides a forum for new research and works-in-progress, and offers an opportunity for both junior and senior scholars to share new work with a friendly and supportive audience of colleagues.

Open to the public. RSVPs are appreciated. E-mail: foucaultsocietyorg@gmail.com.

**As part of our on-going fundraiser, we will have Foucault's The Government of Self and Others: Lectures at the College de France, 1982-1983 (Palgrave, 2010) available for purchase.**

About the Foucault Society:
The Foucault Society is an independent, nonprofit educational organization offering a variety of forums dedicated to the critical study of the ideas of Michel Foucault (1926-1984). All of our events are open to the public. We welcome new participants who have an interest in Foucault's work and its impact on diverse areas of inquiry, including critical social theory, philosophy, politics, history, culture, gender/sexuality studies, and the arts.

Website: www.foucaultsociety.org

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E-mail: foucaultsocietyorg@gmail.com

For directions to the CUNY Graduate Center, please see: http://www.gc.cuny.edu/About-the-GC/Building-Particulars/Building-Access.