John Dewey, Race, and Colonialism

This workshop welcomes papers that investigate and reevaluate the work and legacy of John Dewey as concerns race, racism, and colonialism, and in doing so, make use of recently published primary source documents by American philosopher and educator John Dewey, as well as recent research on Dewey and in philosophy of race, postcolonial and decolonial theory, critical race studies, the history of American philosophy, and environmental pragmatism and ecofeminism. The goal is neither hagiography nor condemnation of Dewey as an individual, but rather to explore two interrelated goals. First, we seek to investigate Dewey, the influential public intellectual, as a central node in networks of thought and action as concerns opposition to racism and colonialism, as well as networks that entrench white ignorance and imperialism. Second, we seek to take Dewey, the pragmatist philosopher and social thinker, alone and in dialogue with others, as an imperfect but valuable resource and starting point for theory and scholarship on race and antiracism, post- and decolonial theory, and cultural pluralism. To fulfill these goals, the workshop will be organized into three specific themes as the focus of each day of the workshop: Dewey and the African Diaspora, Environmental Pragmatism and Coloniality, and Education for a Global Future.