In this episode, we take a deep dive into Frantz Fanon’s first book Black Skin, White Masks. We discuss his views on racism as a form of alienation and narcissism, assess that status of reason throughout his argument, and interrogate his emphasis on futurity over history. Throughout we defend his theory of social pathology and his embrace of reason and universal humanism. This episode should be a stimulating introduction to the anticolonial and revolutionary work of Fanon for both newcomers and experts!

leftofphilosophy.com | @leftofphil

References:

Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks, trans. Richard Philcox (New York: Grove Press, 2008).

Frantz Fanon, Œuvres (Paris: Éditions La Découverte, 2011).

Frantz Fanon, “Racism and Culture,” in Toward the African Revolution, trans. Haakon Chevalier (New York: Grove Press, 1967).

Liam Kofi Bright, “White Psychodrama,” The Journal of Political Philosophy, 2023. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jopp.12290

Music: Vintage Memories by Schematist | schematist.bandcamp.com