Hannah Arendt Center presents:
Not So Black and White
with Kenan Malik
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Olin Humanities, Room 205
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
This event occurred on:
Abstract:
We live in an age in which in most societies, there is a moral abhorrence of racism, albeit that in most, bigotry and discrimination still disfigure the lives of many. We also live in an age obsessed with the placing of people into racial and ethnic boxes. The more we despise racial thinking, the more we seem to cling to it. That is the paradox that I address in my talk.
I will retell the history both of the idea of race and of the struggles to confront racism and to transcend racial categorization, how those two histories intersect, and how that history helps us makes sense contemporary discussions about race and racism, from identity politics to cultural appropriation, from the rise of the far right to the significance of Black Lives Matter.
Bio:
Kenan Malik is a London-based writer, lecturer and broadcaster, and a columnist for the Observer. After studying neurobiology, and then history and philosophy of science, he has, over the past 30 years, combined academic research with popular writing and journalism. His main areas of interest are the history of ideas, political and moral philosophy, and the history and sociology of race and immigration.
His latest book, Not So Black and White, is a history of ideas of race and identity. Previous books include From Fatwa to Jihad, The Search for a Moral Compass, Multiculturalism and its Discontents, Strange Fruit, Man, Beast and Zombie, and The Meaning of Race. From Fatwa to Jihad was shortlisted for the Orwell Book Prize, and Strange Fruit nominated for the Royal Society Science Book Prize.
He has written and presented numerous radio and TV documentaries and lectured at universities in Britain, Europe, Australia, USA and Canada.
We live in an age in which in most societies, there is a moral abhorrence of racism, albeit that in most, bigotry and discrimination still disfigure the lives of many. We also live in an age obsessed with the placing of people into racial and ethnic boxes. The more we despise racial thinking, the more we seem to cling to it. That is the paradox that I address in my talk.
I will retell the history both of the idea of race and of the struggles to confront racism and to transcend racial categorization, how those two histories intersect, and how that history helps us makes sense contemporary discussions about race and racism, from identity politics to cultural appropriation, from the rise of the far right to the significance of Black Lives Matter.
Bio:
Kenan Malik is a London-based writer, lecturer and broadcaster, and a columnist for the Observer. After studying neurobiology, and then history and philosophy of science, he has, over the past 30 years, combined academic research with popular writing and journalism. His main areas of interest are the history of ideas, political and moral philosophy, and the history and sociology of race and immigration.
His latest book, Not So Black and White, is a history of ideas of race and identity. Previous books include From Fatwa to Jihad, The Search for a Moral Compass, Multiculturalism and its Discontents, Strange Fruit, Man, Beast and Zombie, and The Meaning of Race. From Fatwa to Jihad was shortlisted for the Orwell Book Prize, and Strange Fruit nominated for the Royal Society Science Book Prize.
He has written and presented numerous radio and TV documentaries and lectured at universities in Britain, Europe, Australia, USA and Canada.