Forum Feb. 23 and 24 to discuss philosophy of race

The WWU Philosophy Club, in partnership with the Black Student Union, the Latino Student Union, MEChA and the Bellingham Lectures in Philosophy and Religion will bring two philosophers of race, Jorge Garcia and Luvell Anderson, to Western Washington University's campus to speak on the nature of racism, and racialized language Feb. 23 and 24.

What exactly is the philosophy of race? It’s widely known that race and racism are global phenomena that not only explain a way in which people are categorized, but the way both individuals and institutions regard one another. Most of us take it that we are members of some race (perhaps multiple races) and that sometimes our membership in said races partially determines how we are treated. Additionally, we spend a good amount of time examining race issues such as racial conflicts, how racism can affect one’s economic well-being (for better or worse), and whether or not treating people based on race is just (e.g. racial profiling). And while we make use of the concepts of race and racism quite readily in these debates, we spend surprisingly little time and effort trying to figure out just what races are and what racism is. And yet, this is precisely the area of study taken up by philosophers of race. For example, a philosopher of race might examine questions like the following:

• What is race?
• How does race differ from ethnicity?
• What does it mean to be a “member” of a race? 
• What are racialized implicit biases? How do we eliminate them? 
• What does it mean to be ‘racist’ in the 21st century? 
• How is language racialized? 

Jorge Garcia is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and the author of the forthcoming book "The Heart of Racism: Essays on Diversity, Race, and Relativism." He has written numerous articles and essays on a wide range of topics in theoretical and applied ethics over the past thirty years. 

Luvell Anderson is an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Memphis. He's co-editor of "The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Race" and author of several articles in philosophy of language, race and aesthetics. Anderson’s current book project, "Racial Semantics," examines the relationship between race, power, and linguistic practice.

This year’s Philosophy of Race Forum will be a two day event, held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Feb. 23 and 24 in Fraser Hall Room 102. Jorge Garcia will speak Tuesday, and Luvell Anderson will speak Wednesday.

The Philosophy of Race Forum is designed to be an open, inclusive space wherein members of the Western community can engage in intellectual conversation on the topic of race in a considerate and respectful manner. It is expected that those in attendance will be committed to making this educational event as valuable as possible.

The event is sponsored by Western’s Philosophy Department, the President’s Office and the Office of the Provost.