Orality

4. Hide and Seek: The Upanisads

Posted on 1 November 2015

The ancient texts known as the Upaniṣads claim to expose the hidden connections between things, including the self and the world.

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15. Heard it Through the Grapevine: Oral Philosophy in Africa

Posted on 11 November 2018

An introduction to the “ethnophilosophy” approach inaugurated by Placide Tempels, its promises and potential pitfalls.

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16. Samuel Imbo on Okot p'Bitek and Oral Traditions

Posted on 25 November 2018

A conversation with Sam Imbo on approaching oral traditions as philosophy and the Ugandan thinker and poet Okot p'Bitek.

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17. Event Horizon: African Philosophy of Time

Posted on 9 December 2018

John Mbiti’s influential and controversial claim that traditional Africans experience time as having “a long past, a present, and virtually no future.”

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19. Behind the Mask: African Philosophy of the Person

Posted on 6 January 2019

Traditional African ideas about personhood, which challenge assumptions about the relation between mind and body, self and other.

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22. Women Have No Tribe: Gender in African Tradition

Posted on 17 February 2019

What archeology, ethnography, and philosophical interpretation tell us about the diverse and often ambiguous roles of men and women in traditional African societies.

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24. Professionally Speaking: The Reaction Against Ethnophilosophy

Posted on 17 March 2019

Paulin Hountondji (pictured) and other African philosophers criticize ethnophilosophy and advocate a universalist approach.

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25. Wise Guys: Sage Philosophy

Posted on 31 March 2019

Henry Odera Oruka’s new method for exploring philosophy in Africa, based on interviews with wise individuals.

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26. Kai Kresse on the Anthropology of Philosophy

Posted on 14 April 2019

An interview with Kai Kresse (pictured here with Ustadh Mahmoud Mau) who discusses his efforts to do "anthropology of philosophy" on the Swahili Coast.

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27. Beyond the Reaction: The Continuing Relevance of Precolonial Traditions

Posted on 28 April 2019

As the twentieth century draws to a close, the critique of ethnophilosophy gives way to approaches that continue to privilege the study of precolonial traditions, including the approach promoted by Kwasi Wiredu (pictured). 

Note: we dedicate this episode to the memory of Kwame Gyekye, who passed away earlier this month.

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28. Chike Jeffers on Precolonial African Philosophy

Posted on 12 May 2019

Co-host Chike Jeffers and Peter chat about the themes and questions raised by the podcast so far.

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59. Frowning at Froudacious Fabrications: J.J. Thomas and F.A. Durham

Posted on 20 September 2020

John Jacob Thomas argues for self-government in the English colonies of the Caribbean but his fellow Trinidadian Frederick Alexander Durham recommends repatriation to Africa instead.

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67. Chike Jeffers on Slavery and Diasporic Philosophy

Posted on 10 January 2021

Co-host Chike joins Peter to look back at series two and ahead to series three.

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82. The Florida Project: Zora Neale Hurston

Posted on 5 September 2021

Zora Neale Hurston’s interest in Africana folklore feeds into her great novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.

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