Feminist and Anti-Racist Philosophies of Space and Time

Full Tuition: $300 — Scholarship Options in Drop-Down Menu

Instructor: Dahiya | 6-weeks | Tuesdays March 28-May 2 | 7:00-9:00 PM ET | ONLINE

In 1837, German philosopher Wilhelm Hegel famously declared that Africa “is no historical part of the world; it has no movement or development to exhibit.” It is instead simply a dark, voluminous landmass in the Southern hemisphere. More recently, Black feminist theorist Brittney Cooper argues “that if time had a race, it would be white,” and according to author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates, “the defining feature of being drafted into the black race is the inescapable robbery of time.” What does it mean to be outside of history and for time itself to be racialized? What is the relation between power, politics, oppression, and philosophical concepts of space and time? How are time and space experienced under colonialism? What is the spacetime of slavery?

In this six-week course, we will explore how “abstract” concepts of space and time are deeply intertwined with histories of racism, colonialism, and the history of enslavement. Together, we will examine how certain philosophical conceptions of space and time actually bolster sexed, raced, and colonial oppression. Using landmark readings in the history and philosophy of science, Caribbean anti-colonial philosophy, Black feminist thought, and certain strands of 20th-century French philosophy, we will study how the concepts time and space can and must be rethought in order to create new times and spaces where oppressed peoples can not only live but flourish.

Classes are recorded to allow for students to participate asynchronously. If you want to take a class but cannot make the class time, sign up for the asynchronous audit option to follow along on your own. Recordings are password protected and will only be available for the duration of the class and two weeks after it ends.

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All tuition goes to paying instructors and staff a living wage. We encourage you to pick the payment tier that corresponds with your needs, but ask that you please consider our commitment to fair labor practices when doing so. We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class, and one full scholarship per person per term. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out or you would like to pay tuition on an installment basis, please email us directly, and we will work with you.

If at any point up to 48 hours before your first class session you realize you will be unable to take the class, please email us and we will reallocate your funds to a future class, to another student’s scholarship, or refund it. After classes begin, we are only able to make partial refunds and adjustments.