Race and Racism in the Historiography of Philosophy

According to a dominant historiography, philosophy is a Western endeavour. Its roots are to be found in Europe, more precisely in Ancient Greece, and its most significant developments are due to Western thinkers. In recent years, however, this narrative has been challenged by scholars and criticised from various sides. The narrative, it is argued, has itself a history: it was born at the end of the eighteenth century and came together with a marginalisation of non-Western contributions to the origins and developments of the discipline. The process of appropriation of philosophy by Western historians, it is further argued, was not independent of racist prejudices and theories. This seminar will be devoted to the recent literature on these topics. It aims to see how issues about race and racism have shaped current historiography of philosophy and explores alternative narratives that have been suggested to change this historiography.