Black Feminism and the Politics of Care

“caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare” (Audre Lorde) This course focuses on Black feminist thought through the lens of care as both theory and lived experience from the late twentieth century to the present. Care in the context of the course is a radical epistemology and praxis that might be defined as, in the words of Aisha K. Finch “to be about the business of living with people, sharing in and amplifying their life force, recognizing their value and worth.” Through the critical examination of a number of texts, the course will examine the multifaceted concept and practice of care in Black people’s lives as a contest against state power and a means of survival and joy.