Abolishing Race/ism: Toward a Global Ethic of Liberation

This talk advances the togetherness wayfinder (formerly the theory of racelessness) as a liberatory, decolonial praxis within global and comparative philosophy. Rather than denying histories of racialization, within the togetherness wayfinder “racelessness” interrogates race as an imposed classification that organizes and mandates harm, while centring dignity, relation, and plurality. 

Drawing on Africana thought (Mbembe, Locke, Morrison, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Hurston), Caribbean poetics (Glissant, Walcott), and comparative traditions of personhood and interdependence, I outline the togetherness wayfinder, a practical framework for translating racial discourse and practices into effectively humanizing language about culture, power, and ethics and practices. The togetherness wayfinder clarifies analysis, reorients pedagogy, and opens coalitional possibilities. The aim is not erasure, but emancipation: moving from racial subjection to shared responsibility and freedom.

Speaker

Dr. Sheena Michele Mason is an associate professor in English at SUNY Oneonta in Oneonta, New York, USA and author of The Raceless Antiracist and Theory of Racelessness. Her work bridges literature, Africana philosophy, and decolonial ethics to develop the togetherness wayfinder, a framework for humanizing discourse and actions. She is an active public scholar and educational consultant and directs innovative programs that enhance the aims of human rights efforts

To Attend

Please follow the Zoom link at the top of the page.

Contact

cgcp@soas.ac.uk

SOAS World Philosophies Lecture 28