About the lecture
“In 1900, at the first Pan-African Congress in London, the Black American intellectual and activist W.E.B. Du Bois declared that the problem of the twentieth century would be what he called ‘the problem of the color line’.
Du Bois referred to the way race figured in European colonial projects of that time and to the persistent enforcement of racial inequality in his own country. To understand Du Bois’ statement and many of the phenomena he had in mind, Appiah will in this lecture try to develop an account of various ways in which we might invoke the term ‘racism’.
He shall initiate this discussion with an account of beliefs in and about putative races, and a distinction between individual racist beliefs and other attitudes. He will then go on to discuss the role of social institutions in maintaining systematic racial injustice. Appiahargues that the best way to bring all these things into a single account is to see them as produced and sustained by racist ideology.”
Programme
Kl. 14.15-15.00: Examen philosophicum lecture by Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah
Kl. 15.00-15.20: Comments from the invited panel:
Anna Smajdor (University of Oslo)
Smajdor is a professor of philosophy at the University of Oslo. She conducts research on ethical issues related to medicine, innovation, and the life sciences.
Aness Webster (Durham University)
Webster is an assistant professor of philosophy at Durham University. Her research focuses on the lessons that can be learnt by examining the lived experiences of marginalised people. In particular, she has written on agency, autonomy, stereotypes, and shame.
Kl. 15.20-15.45: Response from Appiah and questions from the audience.
The Annual Examen philosophicum lecture
Every year, an influential philosopher and skilled communicator/speaker? is invited to give the Annual Examen philosophicum lecture at the University of Oslo on a current topic.
The course Examen philosophicum is often associated with the history of philosophy, but is fundamentally about continuing an ongoing critical conversation.
The lecture will demonstrate the relevance of the course and give the students an insight into the philosophical research frontier.
Through this close encounter with the forefront of research, students and society in general will see that the boundaries of knowledge are expanded by women and men who think differently and who challenge established truths.
New this year is that the academic group for philosophy has started a collaboration with the philosophical journal Inquiry on the publication of the lecture and commentaries. Inquiry was established in Oslo by Professor Arne Næss in 1958, and is now a leading international journal.
The lecture is open to all, and will be recorded.