Author: Rodriguez, Alenies

Mary Gregg: APA Member Interview

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Congratulations to Mary Gregg, a recent UConn Ph.D. Alumna, for being selected for an APA Member interview! This section of the APA Blog is designed to get to know our fellow philosophers a little better. Profiles of APA members spotlight what captures their interest not only inside the office, but also outside of it.

 

What excites you about philosophy? 

Its ability to reach, unite, and inspire persons from all backgrounds and disciplines. As a discipline characterized by critical reflection on the beliefs, assumptions, and principles we often leave unquestioned, philosophy encourages its participants to think carefully about why and how they think the way they do about the world around them in ways they might not have thought possible. In its aptitude for constant reflection and revision, philosophy provokes a useful humility in its thinkers, which cultivates a learning environment marked by openness and curiosity in such a way that even the often unflinching instructor-pupil power differential is usefully broken down, allowing each person to learn, with gratitude, from one another, both in the classroom and beyond it.

Lewis Gordon: Interview with Tavis Smiley

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Why does Black consciousness pose such a threat to racist power structures?

 

In his celebrated book Fear of Black Consciousness, Professor, Head of the Philosophy Department at UConn, and leading philosopher Lewis Gordon answers this question while unpacking “the historical development of racialized Blackness, the problems this kind of consciousness produces, and the many creative responses from Black and non-Black communities in contemporary struggles for dignity and freedom.” He joins Tavis for a conversation centered around his latest text.

 

"The Tavis Smiley Podcast" airs on weekdays 9 AM - 12 N

Insightful conversations with thought leaders, opinion makers, celebrities, authors and artists. Plus, socially conscious commentary that challenges listeners to re-examine the assumptions they hold, and expand their inventory of ideas.

 

One of TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People In The World,” Smiley has interviewed a veritable who’s who list of influencers, has penned multiple New York Times Bestselling books, and has already been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.