A phenomenology of difference: learning from Fanon’s engagement with existential phenomenology. Saturday 11 November 2pm

AT THE 35TH EXISTENTIAL CONFERENCE (online and in person in London King’s Cross. To book: https://community.existentialanalysis.org.uk/events?fbclid=IwAR2HLiHrZEZlH0_mezNHP-jx5ok7nruJtThO06plAsM1QvaB7kPFqvHCdsc

Summary: For several critics, phenomenology is instituted on universalist views which ignore the historical realities of class, race, and gender. They also maintain that phenomenology implies suppression of difference. One of these critics was the political philosopher, psychiatrist, and activist Frantz Fanon. Usually associated with Sartre, who influenced his Black Skin, White Masks, and who wrote the preface to The Wretched of the Earth, Fanon was also engaged with Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology. Drawing on Merleau-Ponty’s and Fanon’s writings, as well as on black and queer critical studies’ on the body, nature, and exclusion, this paper will focus on aspects of this engagement, including the notions of ‘corporeal schema’ (Merleau-Ponty) and ‘historical-racial schema’ (Fanon). It will outline potential tenets for a phenomenology of difference and emancipation, highlighting aspects of Fanon’s thought and practice which may foster a deeper understanding of freedom and of societal and mental distress.

Zen meditation online

Saturday 25 November 2-5pm Beginners and experienced practitioners welcome. Write to manubazzano3@gmail.com to secure a place

The Skull beneath the Skin

On Death, Suicide, and Existential Therapy. THURSDAY 7 DECEMBER 18-19.30 GMT. £5-£15. For full details and to buy a ticket click on the eventbrite logo below: