Transatlantic Resonances: Philosophical Entanglements between Africa and the Americas

This lecture series takes the transatlantic space between Africa and the Americas as its contextual point of departure to explore the complex processes of philosophical exchange that have emerged on both sides of the Atlantic.

The history of relations between Africa and the Americas is marked by experiences of racism, slavery, and colonialism, but also by enduring practices of resistance and resilience. The series therefore asks how forms of knowledge, memory, and identity between the ocean shores have contributed to the development of unique philosophical concepts. In this context, philosophy is not treated as a singular, canonical tradition, but rather as a plural and contested field of knowledge production that unfolds across continents, languages, media, and historical conditions.

By connecting historical events with current challenges and debates, the series opens a space for reflection on the possibilities and limitations of philosophy as inclusive, intercontinental or global knowledge production. In this way, it reveals both the interconnections and the tensions that continue to shape philosophy as an intercultural project between Africa and the Americas to this day. Here, philosophical knowledge production has relied not only on written records but also on rich oral traditions, whose documentation poses a particular challenge for the history of philosophy.