Media

Tiana-Marie Blassingale: Jeezy’s Lessons from Adversity

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Please check out an excerpt from Philosophy Graduate Student Tiana-Marie Blassingale’s new review essay, “Jeezy’s Lessons from Adversity”:

On the surface, it seems like Adversity for Sale is a collection of short stories about a young Black man as he navigates his way through the street life into a position of an established entrepreneur who is capable of providing generational wealth for his family by any means. However, seen through a philosophical lens, the book highlights a new perspective on liberatory virtues and vices. It’s a curation of epistemology, learned through lived experiences, not only by Jeezy, but also by many others in the book and the hood, more generally speaking. The book provides a glimpse into a rich body of knowledge, which could be referred to as “Hood Philosophy,” otherwise known as “street smarts” or “street knowledge.”

You can read the full essay on the Blog of the APA here.

Congratulations, Tiana-Marie!

Thomas Meagher: Myisha Cherry’s Failures of Forgiveness Review

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Check out Thomas Meagher’s (PhD 2018) newest review essay: “Forgiveness, Obligation, and Cultures of Domination: A Review of Myisha Cherry’s Failures of Forgiveness”.

Below is an excerpt of the article, which you can read in full on the Blog of the APA here.

This diagnosis Cherry relates largely in the form of a discussion of the commonplace or “narrow” view of forgiveness. Cherry characterizes the common view as one in which forgiveness is, at heart, a means of letting go of anger. On such a view, the purpose or telos of forgiving must be to unburden the forgiver of emotions directed toward wrongdoers. Cherry shows, though, that this is an overly narrow conception of the emotional correlates of those contexts in which forgiveness is an option. 

Congrats, Thomas!

Tracy Llanera: Featured in The Daily Campus

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Congratulations to Assistant Professor Tracy Llanera on being featured in The Daily Campus! The article features Dr. Llanera’s presentation, “The Misfits of Extremism: Brides, Moms, and Daughters,” and discusses the premise of her upcoming book that is currently in progress.

 

“This book interrogates the role, value, and agency of marginal actors in white supremacist and Islamic terror movements,” Llanera stated. “While becoming extremists may temporarily enhance their agency and feelings of importance and belonging, I argue that the empowerment of marginal actors is conditional, pernicious and often lethal.”

 

You can read the rest of the article here.

Tracy Llanera: Marginal Actors in Extremist Movements

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Congratulations to Dr. Tracy Llanera, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and 2023-2024 University of Connecticut Humanities Institute (UCHI) faculty fellow, for her recent feature in UCHI's Spotlight Series discussing her recent project, The Misfits of Extremism. You can access the video below, or by visiting UCHI's YouTube Channel here.

Congratulations, Tracy!

Paul Bloomfield: “The Best Revenge” on 3 Quarks Daily

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Congratulations to Professor Paul Bloomfield on his newest piece, “The Best Revenge,” which is now accessible through 3 Quarks Daily.

You can read an excerpt from the article below:

If we defeat our enemy by acting like them, if they succeed in bringing us down to their level, then we have lost regardless of the outcome. Maybe we survive, but we survive through degradation: we become as bad as those we revile. We cut off our nose to spite our face.

You can read the remainder of the article here, or by going to the 3 Quarks Daily website.

Lewis Gordon: New Interview with Tavis Smiley and the Boston Review

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Congratulations to Professor Lewis Gordon for his latest appearances on The Tavis Smiley Podcast and the Boston Review!

On Dr. Lewis Gordon’s latest interview with Tavis Smiley, they discuss how to live more ethically and courageously. Listen to the episode here: The Tavis Smiley Podcast with Dr. Lewis Gordon

Dr. Lewis Gordon also appears on the Boston Review, with Nathalie Etoke, to discuss the space for freedom opened up by Black existentialist thought. Read the article here: What Does It Mean to be Free?