Slavery and Enlightenment

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

Philosophical discussions of the Enlightenment rarely take into account the fact that it unfolded against the backdrop of colonial slavery. In this seminar, we will use the philosophical questions raised by colonial slavery to interrogate the moral and political writings of familiar Enlightenment philosophers such as John Locke,Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith, Edmund Burke, and Immanuel Kant. We will also read the abolitionist tracks by less well-known thinkers, such as Olaudah Equiano and Quobna Ottobah Cugoano (former slaves).