1960s
20th century literary criticism
A01=Mark Christian Thompson
A01=Professor Mark Christian Thompson
adorno
african essence
Age Group_Uncategorized
Age Group_Uncategorized
amiri baraka
angela y davis
aspirational models
Author_Mark Christian Thompson
Author_Professor Mark Christian Thompson
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black power
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=JN
comparative literature
COP=United States
Delivery_Delivery within 10-20 working days
eldridge cleaver
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eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
german critical theory
habermas
hermeneutical aspects
interdisciplinary investments
james baldwin
Language_English
malcolm x
marcuse
ontology
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philosophers
philosophical context
post-war decades
Price_€20 to €50
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religion
religious thought
singularity
social expression
socio-historical characteristics
sociology
softlaunch
thoughts
united states
web du bois
writers
writing
Product details
- ISBN 9780226816425
- Weight: 286g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 21 Jan 2022
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
- Language: English
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This unorthodox account of 1960s Black thought rigorously details the field’s debts to German critical theory and explores a forgotten tradition of Black singularity.
Phenomenal Blackness examines the changing interdisciplinary investments of key mid-century Black writers and thinkers, including the growing interest in German philosophy and critical theory. Mark Christian Thompson analyzes this shift in intellectual focus across the post-war decades, placing Black Power thought in a philosophical context.
Prior to the 1960s, sociologically oriented thinkers such as W. E. B. Du Bois had understood Blackness as a singular set of socio-historical characteristics. In contrast, writers such as Amiri Baraka, James Baldwin, Angela Y. Davis, Eldridge Cleaver, and Malcolm X were drawn to notions of an African essence, an ontology of Black being. With these perspectives, literary language came to be seen as the primary social expression of Blackness. For this new way of thinking, the works of philosophers such as Adorno, Habermas, and Marcuse were a vital resource, allowing for continued cultural-materialist analysis while accommodating the hermeneutical aspects of Black religious thought. Thompson argues that these efforts to reimagine Black singularity led to a phenomenological understanding of Blackness—a “Black aesthetic dimension” wherein aspirational models for Black liberation might emerge.
Phenomenal Blackness examines the changing interdisciplinary investments of key mid-century Black writers and thinkers, including the growing interest in German philosophy and critical theory. Mark Christian Thompson analyzes this shift in intellectual focus across the post-war decades, placing Black Power thought in a philosophical context.
Prior to the 1960s, sociologically oriented thinkers such as W. E. B. Du Bois had understood Blackness as a singular set of socio-historical characteristics. In contrast, writers such as Amiri Baraka, James Baldwin, Angela Y. Davis, Eldridge Cleaver, and Malcolm X were drawn to notions of an African essence, an ontology of Black being. With these perspectives, literary language came to be seen as the primary social expression of Blackness. For this new way of thinking, the works of philosophers such as Adorno, Habermas, and Marcuse were a vital resource, allowing for continued cultural-materialist analysis while accommodating the hermeneutical aspects of Black religious thought. Thompson argues that these efforts to reimagine Black singularity led to a phenomenological understanding of Blackness—a “Black aesthetic dimension” wherein aspirational models for Black liberation might emerge.
Mark Christian Thompson is professor of English at Johns Hopkins University, where he also serves as chair of the English department. He is the author of three books, most recently Anti-Music: Jazz and Racial Blackness in German Thought between the Wars.
