Race as Phenomena: Between Phenomenology and Philosophy of Race [Hardcover]

This book introduces and explores the relation between race and phenomenology through varied African American, Latina, Asian American, and White American perspectives. Phenomenology is best known as a descriptive endeavor to more accurately describe our experience of the world. These essays examine the ways in which this relation between phenomenology and race acts as a site of racial meaning.

Philosophy of race conceives race as a social construction. Because of the sedimentation of racial meaning into the very structure and practices of society, the socially constructed meanings about features of the body are mistaken as natural. Hence although racial meaning is theoretically recognized as socially constructed, during an every-day interaction, racial meaning is mistaken as inevitable and natural.

Ideal for advanced students in phenomenology and philosophy of race, this volume pushes the phenomenological method forward by exploring its relation to questions within philosophy of race.

Emily S. Lee is Professor of Philosophy at California State University at Fullerton. Her research interests include feminist philosophy, philosophy of race and phenomenology, especially the works of Maurice Merleau-Ponty. She is editor of Living Alterities: Phenomenology, Embodiment, and Race (2014).

As a collection, Race as Phenomena should prove to be a valuable resource for both scholars and students interested in philosophy of race. Simone de Beauvoir Studies

Race as Phenomena is an accessible collection of reflections on concrete and theoretical aspects of race in the current post post-racial moment. The shared phenomenological approach encompasses experiences and identities of white, Asian, Latinx, and Black Americans, as well as Muslim feminism. The combined perspective is engaging and insightful. Naomi Zack, Lehman College, CUNY

Race as Phenomena is a vital contribution to a growing field. Du Bois once complained that social thelƒ€