Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth [1961] 1st of 2 Sessions

Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth is arguably the most influential revolutionary polemic of the 20th Century, providing the intellectual foundation for decolonization/liberation movements all over the world. Published in 1961, his radical vision, and call for action, is still relevant today. Join us as we explore the ideas and arguments in this groundbreaking work.

For our first of two sessions on this book (May 22, 2022), please read Sections I and II (On Violence, Grandeur and Weakness of Spontaneity, 96 pages).

Note: dates for both Fanon sessions switched to after Mothers' Day: 5-22-22 & 6-5-22

From Wikipedia: "The Wretched of the Earth (French: Les Damnés de la Terre) is a 1961 book by the psychiatrist Frantz Fanon, in which the author provides a psychological and psychiatric analysis of the dehumanizing effects of colonization upon the individual and the nation, and discusses the broader social, cultural, and political implications of establishing a social movement for the decolonization of a person and of a people. The French-language title derives from the opening lyrics of 'The Internationale'."

From SEP: "Without question, the 1961 publication of The Wretched of the Earth (Les damnés de la terre) changed Fanon’s global profile as a thinker of anti-colonial struggle, revolutionary action, and post-colonial statecraft and imagination.
In many ways, Wretched is a fulfillment of the short, suggestive promissory notes on anti-colonial struggle found in the many essays, editorials, and letters written in the time following Black Skin, White Masks. Those occasional writings and major essays shift focus away from anti-Blackness as a core theme and toward a broader sense of the effects of colonialism on the psyche, cultural formation, and political organization. That shift in focus allows Fanon to think more broadly about the meaning and purpose of revolutionary struggle."

Join us online at 11:00 AM PDT / 2:00 PM EDT via Zoom.

#### Contents

• Introduction to the Sixtieth Anniversary Edition by Cornel West Foreword: Framing Fanon by Homi K. Bhabha
• Preface by Jean-Paul Sartre
• On violence
• Grandeur and weakness of spontaneity
• The trials and tribulations of national consciousness
• On national culture
• Mutual foundations for national culture and liberation struggles Colonial war and mental disorders
• Series A -- Series B -- Series C -- Series D --
• From the North African's criminal impulsiveness to the war of national liberation
• Conclusion
• On retranslating Fanon, retrieving a lost voice by Richard Philcox.

Edition (available from your library or online):
Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth [1961] 60th Anniversary Edition. Translated by Richard Philcox, commentary by Jean-Paul Sartre, Homi K. Bhabha, and Cornel West. New York: Grove Press, 2021. ISBN: 9780802158635
Available used from $13+
Ebook ISBN: 9780802198853

Any attendees who have not read the text will be invited to pose questions via the Zoom Chat.

Videos on The Wretched of the Earth: TBD -by you, please suggest.

Our 2022 Schedule (subject to change):
Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth [1961] (Grove, 2021)
Kuhn, Structure of Scientific Revolutions [1962] (Chicago, 2012)
Derrida, Writing and Difference [1967] (Chicago, 2017)
Rawls, A Theory of Justice [1971] (Harvard, 2020)
Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia [1974] (Basic, 2013)
Foucault, Discipline and Punish [1975] (Penguin, 2020)
Rorty, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature [1979] (Princeton, 2017)
MacIntyre, After Virtue [1981] (3rd Ed. Notre Dame, 2007)

Follow this link for a draft syllabus from Columbia U that forms the basis for our course of study.