The course 'Some Foundations of Intercultural philosophy'
chair of Foundations of Intercultural Philosophy, at the Philosophical Faculty, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 2003-2004
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The course 'Some Foundations of Intercultural philosophy' chair of Foundations of Intercultural Philosophy, at the Philosophical Faculty, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 2003-2004 |
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Course: Some foundations of intercultural philosophy
(VW2 X50)
Lecturer: Professor dr Wim van Binsbergen (binsbergen@chello.nl )
time and place: Woudestein campus, Building L (Faculty of Historical and Art Studies), room LB-62, Wednesdays, 15.00-16.45 hrs, during the first (Fall) trimester
This
course (which is intended as interactive, exciting, and
unsettling) investigates central themes in our contemporary,
allegedly multicultural, globalising world:
To avoid misunderstanding: this course is
not specifically devoted to the comparison of the world’s
major philosophical traditions (Chinese, Indian, African,
European, Islamic, Jewish). Instead, it envisages an abstract and
formal, rather than substantive, investigation of the conditions
for interculturality.
After
a first informative meeting concerning course format and outline,
and allocation of students’ specific tasks as discussant and
chair, the first few weeks will be devoted to a collective
reading and discussion of selected chapters from the
lecturer’s book Intercultural encounters: African and
anthropological lessons for a philosophy of interculturality.
This book was supposed to be published in the summer of 2003, and
even though its publication has been delayed by a few weeks, the
text has been finalised, and will be made available by the author
in hard copy, pending the actual appearance. Once the basis has
been laid through an initial reading of Intercultural
encounters, the assigned texts will diversify and students
will take turns in preparing, introducing, commenting and
chairing during sessions each devoted to one or two readings.
These readings will be made available in class for individual
students to copy for themselves, in so far as they are not yet
available on the Internet. Topics to be covered are:
The
second and final series of readings will seek to open an
intercultural philosophical perspective on Africa, with:
For
each session (except the first, introductory session) each
student prepares a reasoned question (1000-1500 chrs) about the
prescribed reading for that session. These questions are to be
submitted in printed form before the end of the session in
question. From week to week, the lecturer will grade these
assignments and discuss them in class in a general manner, in
principle without reference to a specific student’s work.
Moreover, each session is to be introduced by one of the
students, in an oral presentation not exceeding 20 minutes, based
on the prescribed readings for that session and backed up by a
handout (1 page A4 maximum) to be distributed among the course
participants immediately before the presentation. The
presentation could be made with the aid of an overhead projector
and transparents based on the handout, but this is not necessary.
The student presenting in a particular week is exempted from
submitting a written question for that week’s session.
A list with assigned literature is available below. Much of the literature of the course is presented through Internet. Internet sources for this course are to be found on the lecturer’s personal website http://www.shikanda.net. These resources include: the present course outline; clickable links to course readings available on internet; a general list of intercultural philosophy titles available in the EUR library.
In
case of full attendance, a student’s assessment will be on
the basis of
If
attendance is incomplete (i.e. more than two sessions missed out
of the total), additional written tasks will be set.
14
weeks, 2 lecture hours a week, in the first (Fall) trimester.
Attendance of the sessions is compulsory, and is monitored by an
attendance list.
Woudestein
campus, Building L (Faculty of Historical and Art Studies), room
LB-62, Wednesdays, 15.00-16.45 hrs, during the first (Fall)
trimester
Full
student workload is 200 hours (= 5 credit points), which should
be equivalent to 1000 pp. of reading.
Open
to all students.
This
course is offered in English. Students are required to
participate in the seminars in English and to submit their papers
in that language. In exceptional cases another international
language may be used for assignments by prior arrangement with
the lecturer.
Students
may apply with Mrs Manon Geluk, Department of Philosophy, Visser
’t Hooft building, Oostmaaslaan 950-952 (800 m west of the
Woudestein campus), room 4-01, tel. 00-31-10-4088998, e-mail: geluk@fwb.eur.nl , before the
beginning of the course.
Prof
van Binsbergen’s preferred e-mail address is: binsbergen@chello.nl .
Students and prospective students in this course are requested to
send an e-mail containing their own e-mail address and marked in
the subject line 'participant intercultural philosophy course
2003-2004' to: binsbergen@chello.nl
, in order to create an electronic mailing list for the current
year’s participants; course details, additional readings,
time table changes due to illness, etc., can then easily be
communicated to all concerned.
Students who wish to discuss their
imminent presentations, ongoing research, possible topics for
papers and theses, and progress in their written work, are very
welcome to do so. Prof. van Binsbergen does not keep open office
hours. Students may contact him during the sessions for an
appointment. The ideal time for an appointment is one or two
hours before the formal sessions. An appointment may also be
fixed by e-mail. Only exceptionally can appointments be expected
to be made within a week's notice.
SPECIFIC
SESSIONS AND READINGS IN THE FALL TERM OF 2003
| |
date |
topic |
assigned
reading |
| INTRODUCTORY
SESSIONS |
|||
| 0 |
3.9.2003 |
informative
meeting |
Note: when the prospectus for 2003-2004 was first uploaded the lecturer was under the impression that courses would start in the week of 8 September 2003, and this was reflected in the programming. We apologise for any inconvenience. |
| 1 |
10.9.2003 |
informative
meeting |
Introductory
lecture: ‘From Africanist social researcher to
intercultural philosopher’ |
| 2 |
17.9.2003 |
Lecture
and group discussion |
Intercultural
encounters, Parts I and II (especially chapter 0) |
| 3 |
24.9.2003 |
Lecture
and group discussion |
Intercultural
encounters, Part III (except chapter 7) |
| 4 |
1.10.2003 |
Lecture
and group discussion |
Intercultural
encounters, Parts IV and V (except chapter 12) |
| 5 |
8.10.2003 |
Guest
lecture |
guest
lecture still to be arranged |
| CONCEPTUAL
TOOLS, METHODS, STRATEGIES |
|||
| 6. |
15.10.2003 |
Globalisation
and identity |
readings
to be announced |
| 7 |
22.10.2003 |
The
choice of perspective: Eurocentric, global, multicentred |
Harding,
S., 1994, ‘Is science multicultural? Challenges,
resources, opportunities, uncertainties,’
Configurations, vol. 2, no. 2, and in David Theo Goldberg
(ed.), Multiculturalism: A Reader, Blackwell, London,
1994. to
be read with van
Binsbergen, W.M.J., 'The underpinning of scientific
knowledge systems: Epistemology or hegemonic power? The
implications of Sandra Harding’s critique of North
Atlantic science for the appreciation of African
knowledge systems', paper read at the Porto Novo
conference on African rationality, Benin, September 2002 background
reading: van
Binsbergen, W.M.J., ‘With Black Athena into the
Third millennium?’, website; French version
published as: W.M.J. van Binsbergen, 2000, ‘Dans le
troisième millénaire avec Black Athena?’, in:
Fauvelle-Aymar, F.-X., Chrétien, J.-P., & Perrot,
C.-H., Afrocentrismes: L’histoire des Africains
entre Égypte et Amérique, Paris: Karthala, pp.
127-150 |
| 8 |
29.10.2003 |
Boundaries
in culture and identity |
readings
to be announced |
| 9 |
5.11.2003 |
Structuralism
as a model of thought |
Lévi-Strauss,
C., 1973, The savage mind, Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, English translation of La pensée sauvage, Paris:
Plon, 1962; this translation first published 1966, ch. 1,
‘The science of the concrete’, pp. 1-33 and ch.
2, ‘The logic of totemic classifications’, pp.
35-74 to
be read with Ricoeur,
P., 2000, 'Structure and hermeneutics', in his: The
conflict of interpretations, Evanston: Northwestern
University Press (first published 1974, English
translation of Le conflit des interprétations, Paris:
Seuil, 1969), pp. 27-61 |
| 10 |
12.11.2003 |
Emics
and etics |
Thomas
N. Headland, 1990, ‘Introduction: A Dialogue Between
Kenneth Pike and Marvin Harris on Emics and Etics’,
in: Headland, T.N., Kenneth L. Pike, and Marvin
Harris, 1990, Emics and etics: The insider/outsider
debate, Frontiers of Anthropology no. 7, Newbury Park/
London/ New Delhi: Sage, p. 13-27 to
be read with: Lett,
J., 1990, ‘Emics and Etics: Notes on the
Epistemology of Anthropology’, in: Headland, T.N.,
Kenneth L. Pike, and Marvin Harris, 1990, Emics and
etics: The insider/outsider debate, Frontiers of
Anthropology no. 7, Newbury Park/ London/ New Delhi:
Sage, pp. 127-142 and
with: Quine,
W.V., 1990, ‘The Phoneme's Long Shadow’, in:
Headland, T.N., Kenneth L. Pike, and Marvin Harris,
1990, Emics and etics: The insider/outsider debate,
Frontiers of Anthropology no. 7, Newbury Park/ London/
New Delhi: Sage, p. 164-167 |
| 11 |
19.11.2003 |
The
hermeneutics of intercultural philosophy |
Mall,
R.A., 1995, ‘4. Hermeneutik, Interkulturalität, die
Moderne und die Postmoderne’, in: Mall, R.A.,
Philosophie im Vergleich der Kulturen: Interkulturelle
Philosophie, eine neue Orientierung, Darmstadt:
Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, p. 67-100 to
be read with: Intercultural
encounters, chapter 12 |
| AN
INTERCULTURAL PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE ON AFRICA |
|||
| 12 |
26.11.2003 |
Mudimbe
on Foucault and African philosophers |
Mudimbe,
V.Y., 1988, The invention of Africa: Gnosis, philosophy,
and the order of knowledge, Bloomington &
Indianapolis: Indiana University Press/London: Currey,
ch. II, ‘Questions of method’, pp. 24-43 and
ch. V, ‘The patience of philosophy’, pp.
135-186 to
be read with: Wim
van Binsbergen, 2001, ‘An incomprehensible
miracle’: Central African clerical intellectualism
and African historic religion: A close reading of
Valentin Mudimbe’s Tales of Faith’,
paper, School of Oriental and African Studies, London,
full version, at:
http://www.shikanda.net/african_religion/mudil0.htm |
| 13 |
3.12.2003 |
Rationality
|
Sogolo,
G.S., 1998, ‘Logic and rationality’, in:
Coetzee, P.H., & Roux, A.P.J., 1998, eds., The
African philosophy reader, London: Routledge, pp. 217-233 to
be read with: Horton,
R., 1993, Patterns of thought in Africa and the West:
Essays on magic, religion and science, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, ch. 5, ‘Professor Winch
on safari’, pp. 138-160 and
with: Winch,
P., 1964, ‘Understanding a primitive society’,
American Philosophical Quarterly i, 1964, 307-24;
reprinted in: B.R. Wilson (ed.), Rationality (Basil
Blackwell, Oxford 1970), pp. 78-111 |
| 14 |
10.12.2003 |
Rationality
in context: Coming to terms with African beliefs |
Sperber,
D., 1982, ‘Apparently irrational beliefs’, in:
Hollis, M., & Lukes, S., eds., Relativity and
rationalism, Cambridge (Mass.): MIT, pp. 149-180 to
be read with Intercultural
encounters, chapter 7 background
reading: van
Binsbergen, W.M.J., 2001, 'Witchcraft in modern Africa as
virtualised boundary conditions of the kinship order',
in: Bond, G., & Ciekaswy, D., eds., Witchcraft
dialogues, Ohio University Press, pp. 212-263, also at:
http://www.shikanda.net/african_religion/witch.htm |
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