Thinking with Sage Philosophy in and beyond Africa

Organised by Kai Kresse (Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Freie Universität Berlin & Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient – ZMO) and Oriare Nyarwath (Department of Philosophy & Religious Studies, University of Nairobi) in collaboration with the project Co2libri – conceptual collaboration – living borderless research interaction and EXC 2020.

This event builds on an earlier presentation at EXC 2020 delivered by Kenyan contributors to the edited volume Rethinking Sage Philosophy: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on and beyond H. Odera Oruka (Bloomsbury, 2022), which introduced participants to the work of their compatriot, the philosopher Henry Odera Oruka (1944–1995).

In this follow-up workshop, the focus will be on situating core aspects of Oruka’s Sage Philosophy project within the broader field of African philosophy as well as on initiating a dialogue about its continuing relevance for contemporary issues and debates – both inside and beyond this field.

The editors of the volume, Oriare Nyarwath and Kai Kresse, will first present and discuss selected readings from Oruka’s seminal anthology Sage Philosophy (1990). The conversation will then turn to individual chapters from the new publication, along with recent case studies that expand or critically rethink Oruka’s approach in light of present-day demands and challenges (e.g., the overcoming of Eurocentrism) in interdisciplinary and globally oriented research on knowledge, philosophy, intellectual practices and performative-reflexive traditions around the world.

The event’s goal is to spark interest and to raise and pursue pressing questions among participating academics from diverse disciplines and regions, while engaging critically and creatively with Sage Philosophy in its many facets, including as a way to counter Western prejudices denying the existence of philosophy in Africa.

Participants (tbc):

Prof. Dr. Clarissa Vierke (University of Bayreuth, Literatures in African Languages)

Abdilatif Abdalla, Swahili poet, Hamburg

Dr. Irene Brunotti (Leipzig University, Insitute of African Studies)

Prof. Dr. Franziska Dübgen (University of Münster, Institute for Philosophy)

Prof. Dr. Anke Graness (University of Hildesheim, Institute for Philosophy, Center for Advanced Studies: Philosophizing in a Globalized World)

Dr. Mary Khatib (The State University of Zanzibar, Research Center of Oceanography, Environment and Natural Resources)

Dr. Michael Lyakurwa (University of Dar es Salaam, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies)

Dr. Monika Rohmer (University of Hildesheim, Koselleck-Project: Histories of Philosophy in a Global Perspective)

Prof. Dr. Abdulkader Tayob (University of Cape Town, Department for the Study of Religions)

Freie Universität Berlin
EXC 2020 „Temporal Communities“
Room 00.05 & 00.07
Otto-von-Simson-Straße 15
14195 Berlin

Further Information

Kai Kresse: kaikresse@zedat.fu-berlin.de 

The workshop is open to all interested parties, including graduate students.