Department of Classical Studies
402 Cohen Hall, 249 South 36th St.
*4:15-4:45 pm: Coffee and cookies in Cohen Hall 2nd Floor Lounge. All are welcome.
Speaker: Dr. Maghan Keita, Professor of History and Global Interdisciplinary Studies, Villanova University
Abstract: “Black Athena” has elicited an almost visceral response in relation to various interpretations concerning the production of knowledge in the ancient world. The ‘Black Athena Debate’ critiques Enlightenment theses and the modern worlds they engendered. These critiques are epistemological challenges to conventional ways of thinking and knowing. ‘Black Athenians’ challenged constructions of power in the Modern Age. This talk focuses on the intellectuals and the arguments that preceded Martin Bernal and the epistemes he critiqued. It is an examination of the possible impacts of those debates in relation to the constructions of knowledge and power in the modern world.