What is Race?

Quayshawn Spencer (University of Pennsylvania)

SERIES DESCRIPTION

In the past year and a half, race and racism have been at the forefront of many people’s minds because of widespread Black Lives Matter protests and the disproportionately negative impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on certain racialized communities. But the underlying phenomenon is not only recent. For centuries, racialized communities across North America have faced social and environmental injustices.

Each year, the Rotman Institute of Philosophy and the Department of Philosophy at Western University organize a public lecture series in partnership with the London Public Library. The theme for this year’s lecture series is race & racism.

Oct 7 - Quayshawn Spencer: What is Race?
Oct 14 - Meena Krishnamurthy: When Racial Passing Becomes Racial Fraud
Oct 21 - Carolyn McLeod, Kharissa Edwards & Sinéad Osivwemu: Race, Distrust, and Vaccine Hesitancy
Oct 28 - Deborah McGregor: Indigenous Climate Justice, Nature Based Solutions and Self-Determined Futures

Join us online each Thursday in October from 7:00 - 8:30 pm. Visit our website to view talk abstracts and speaker profiles, and to register.

TALK ABSTRACT (OCT 7)

Recent work among philosophers of race has been aimed at discovering the nature and reality of race among competent English speakers in the USA. However, nowhere near a consensus has been reached. In this talk, I defend an argument that provides a radical solution to this race problem.

SPEAKER PROFILE

Quayshawn Spencer is the Robert S. Blank Presidential Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania.  He has published several journal articles and a book, all of which have been on metaphysical issues at the intersection of philosophy of race and philosophy of science.  His most cited article is, “A Radical Solution to the Race Problem” in a 2014 issue of Philosophy of Science.  Spencer earned his Ph.D. in philosophy at Stanford University in 2009, and also holds an M.S. in biology from Stanford and a B.A. in chemistry from Cornell University.  Spencer has won two Ford Foundation Fellowships, a National Science Foundation Grant (Award #: 1331110), and two Fleishhacker Foundation Grants to support his research.  Spencer has also given over 80 academic talks on the topic of race & biology, including many talks for professional biologists.  Spencer is also an Associate Editor for Biology & Philosophy and Philosophical Studies, and on the editorial boards of Critical Philosophy of Race and Ergo.  Spencer has one published book, What is Race? Four Philosophical Views (with Sally Haslanger, Chike Jeffers, & Joshua Glasgow, OUP 2019), and one forthcoming book, The Race Debates from Metaphysics to Medicine (OUP).