Philosophy, Culture and Psychology In The Classroom

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Philosophy, Culture and Psychology In The Classroom

Theodore S. Ransaw

Despite the fact that the Greek philosopher Thales (624 - 546 B.C.) stated he studied in Egypt and consented that Egypt was the intellectual capital of the world (James, 1992), hardly anyone thinks of Africa when they think of philosophy.?In fact, the first university in the world was in the city of Timbuktu in Mali and was heavily attended by Greek scholars and philosophers (James, 1992).?Additionally, academics are hard pressed to associate any culture outside of Greece with philosophy.?We are fortunate to have heard of Confucius (551- 479 B.C.)?at all.?However, it is important to know that a society does not spend money on education to empower the lower class to successfully compete with the dominant (Johnson, et al. 1976).?This creates a cycle of oppression where formal education does not benefit the working class.?This banking system of education where knowledge is merely deposited to members of the oppressed class to reinforce social class and does little to acknowledge the cultural knowledge the underclass already possesses (Freire, 2007).?Being aware of how culture informs how we perceive the world informs can be a form of activism that allows the freed to enact change (Freire, 2007).

If you are interested in a broader view of philosophy, here are a few selections below.

Diverse Philosophers

1. Frantz Fanon (Martinique, 1925-1961)

• Key works: "Black Skin, White Masks" (1952), "The Wretched of the Earth" (1961)
• Reference: Fanon, F. (2008). Black Skin, White Masks. Grove Press.

1. Kwame Anthony Appiah (Ghana, b. 1954)

• Key works: "In My Father's House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture" (1992), "The Ethics of Identity" (2005)
• Reference: Appiah, K. A. (1993). In My Father's House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture. Oxford University Press.

1. Cornel West (United States, b. 1953)

• Key works: "Race Matters" (1993), "Democracy Matters" (2004)
• Reference: West, C. (1993). Race Matters. Vintage.

1. bell hooks (United States, b. 1952)

• Key works: "Ain't I a Woman?: Black Women and Feminism" (1981), "Feminism Is for Everybody" (2000)
• Reference: hooks, b. (2015). Feminism Is for Everybody. Routledge.

1. Enrique Dussel (Argentina/Mexico, b. 1934)

• Key works: "The Invention of the Americas: Eclipse of the Other and the Myth of Modernity" (1995), "Ethics of Liberation: In the Age of Globalization and Exclusion" (2013)
• Reference: Dussel, E. (2013). Ethics of Liberation: In the Age of Globalization and Exclusion. Duke University Press.

1. Achille Mbembe (Cameroon, b. 1957)

• Key works: "Critique of Black Reason" (2017), "Necropolitics" (2003)
• Reference: Mbembe, A. (2017). Critique of Black Reason. Duke University Press.

1. Gloria Anzaldúa (United States/Mexico, 1942-2004)

• Key works: "Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza" (1987), "This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color" (1981)
• Reference: Anzaldúa, G. (1987). Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. Aunt Lute Books.

1. W. E. B. Du Bois (United States, 1868-1963)

• Key works: "The Souls of Black Folk" (1903), "Black Reconstruction in America" (1935)
• Reference: Du Bois, W. E. B. (2007). The Souls of Black Folk. Oxford University Press.

1. Vandana Shiva (India, b. 1952)

• Key works: "Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and Development" (1988), "Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace" (2005)

1. Freire, P. (Brazil, 1992). Pedagogy of the oppressed.

• Key works: "Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and Development" (1988), "Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace" (2005)
• Key works: conscientization, The banking system
• Pedagogy of Freedom (1996)

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