CONTESTED MEMORY
The Icons of the Occidental Tradition

by Tsenay Serequeberhan

Focused on Kant, Hegel, and Marx the book explores the Eurocentric vista that structures the stance, of these iconic figures, on the non-Occidental world. The thesis is that the efforts of these thinkers--explicitly aimed at articulating the possibility of human freedom in history--in effect authorize and give metaphysical buttress and credence to Occidental hegemony.

Focused on Kant, Hegel, and Marx the book explores the Eurocentric vista that structures the stance, of these iconic figures, on the non-Occidental world. The thesis is that the efforts of these thinkers--explicitly aimed at articulating the possibility of human freedom in history--in effect authorize and give metaphysical buttress and credence to Occidental hegemony.

In the preface and the introduction the author presents the overall thematic context within which the work of the above iconic figures is systematically explored. The three central chapters engage, each thinker consecutively, and specify the thesis advanced. In the penultimate and concluding chapters the author, relying on the work of Gianni vattimo, Aime Cesaire, and Frantz Fanon and critically engaging Kant's idea of a "perpetual peace," explores possibilities beyond the Eurocentric confines of the present.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
TSENAY SEREQUEBERHAN, Ph.D. Boston College. Eritrean by origin, he is a teacher of philosophy whose work is grounded in the Continental tradition and focused on African/Africana philosophy, Hermeneutics, and Social-Political philosophy. He has taught at various institutions of higher leaning including Brown University and Hampshire College and is presently an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Morgan State University. He is the author of: "African Philosophy: The Essential Readings," "The Hermeneutics of African Philosophy," "Our Heritage" and numerous papers.

CATEGORY
Philosophy